by
Keith Hunt
Come back with me to 1968. I was a young man of 26, a
leading member in the local Worldwide Church of God, in fact the
right hand man to our local minister.
Over the preceding two years we had seen a large increase in
new members in our church. One family came in, they were husband
and wife and four children. A country type family, down to earth
and very nice to visit with. Their children were very well
behaved indeed, a real pleasure to know them. I visited with them
a number of times over a two year period. The oldest of the
children was a young lady about 14 or 15 (not sure exactly now,
but certainly not more than 15 when the event I'm relating took
place). She was very mature for her age. She was serious minded,
and enjoyed reading the Bible and talking and listening to
spiritual matters. She was also very physically mature, fully
developed as a young lady, looked 17 or 18 in appearance.
I have forgotten her name now, but certainly have not
forgotten the wonderful example of trust and faith she gave to me
and all of us in the church at that time. This is her story, and
I hope it will INSPIRE all of you, she certainly inspired me and
still does as I meditate on her life.
Her family lived in town in a somewhat "old" house they
rented. It was as I recall the summer of 1968. The children
developed a sickness. It was found that the "house" - the walls
etc. were sick, one of those situation you hardly ever hear of
much anymore. A house becoming sick with .... whatever it was. I
remember the medical people saying they would have to leave the
house and have it de-fumigated, have the walls sprayed and
whatever they do to get the house livable again for human people.
The young lady was the sickest of the four children. It got
so bad that our local minister advised the parents to admit her
to the hospital right away. She was taken to the hospital where
she was to stay and be under the care of the doctors.
The hospital called our minister and told him that what she
had was VERY SERIOUS indeed, and they had nothing in 1968 to
combat this sickness.
Our minister called me the second day she was admitted to
the hospital, and said, "Keith, the young lady is in serious
condition with the decease she has. I would like you to go this
evening and visit with her. Please tell her how serious it is,
and explain it is a matter of life and death."
That evening I went to visit the young lady. On the outside
she did not look to be sick. She was a very pretty young lady,
and looked very calm and as pretty as ever. I had to tell her
that the doctors had told us that her condition was very serious,
that it was life or death. I explained to her that God CAN and
DOES at times, according to His will, HEAL us from sickness. But
I also told her that for whatever reasons God does not always
heal us in this physical life. I explained that we do not always
know what God is going to do or not do. I told her that this was
a matter of life and death. I asked her if she understood what I
was saying (I was saying in a kind way that it could be possible
she may die from this sickness she had).
This young lady was calm and composed, very serene, and very
at peace, with herself and with God and with her situation. She
replied to me that she fully understood what I was saying.
Now, this young lady could have started to get VERY ANGRY
with God. She could have said, "I'm so young! Why has God done
this to me? Why has He allowed me to get this sickness that could
kill me? I have all my life ahead of me. I want to marry, have
children, serve the Lord and just have some adult life. I'm angry
at God!"
She could have been in that frame of mind. I'm telling this
lovely (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) young
lady she may DIE! And she is so calm and peaceful in mind and
body.
It was something I shall always remember. Something that
inspires me, to keep on keeping on in serving the Lord and
keeping a right attitude towards Him, not matter what I may face
in life.
A young lady, a beautiful young lady in all aspects. She was
some terrific example. She was ready to accept whatever God was
going to allow to happen.
A day later I received a phone call ..... our young lady had
died!
I still get tears in my eyes thinking about this fine
example of trust and faith this young lady exhibited. It kind of
puts a lot of things in life and what has happened over the years
in the Church of God, into true perspective. Here was a young
lady, loving God and His word, who was ready to put her life
completely in His hands, and was ready to accept His will.
What a great example! I will not be surprised at all to meet
her again in the first resurrection. She was a true young saint.
I hope her relatively short life on earth in the flesh, is
inspiring to you also.
..................
Written October 2007
2. Racism - What God says!
The Eternal created all races of people
Racism is the idea that race determines culture and that
some cultures, because o£ their racial influence, are inferior or
superior to others. It is the notion that people of some races
are intrinsically inferior to others. This notion is then used to
justify the oppression and subjugation of the supposedly inferior
race.
Of course, these definitions are not entirely adequate.
Races obviously have identifying characteristics; that's how we
know they are races. Culture is not determined exclusively by
race, however, but by an assortment of variables like climate,
religion, politics, tradition, history, ethnicity, tribe, clan,
leadership, geography, raw materials, and foods.
Race, in fact, may have very little to do with the
characteristics of a culture. Economic factors bear heavily on it
as do wars of conquest. Cultures are formed over time by a wide
range of influencing factors.
BIGOTRIES
Closely related to racism is "ethnocentrism," what the
dictionary defines as "the belief in the inherent superiority of
one's own group and culture accompanied by a feeling of contempt
for other groups and cultures" (Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged
Dictionary of the English Language).
In the same family of bigotries we find anti-Semitism and
tribalism. Anti-Semitism is hostility toward, or prejudice
against, Jews, simply because they are Jews. Tribalism is akin to
clannishness in which one's own group is favored over others, or
at the expense of others. In recent years, we have seen attempted
genocides in Africa based on tribal identity. Even people of the
same religion, but of different races or tribes, persecute each
other.
Bigotry is as old as humanity. We naturally prefer our own
"kind" to another kind that we have difficulty identifying with.
Some years back, someone described loneliness as "a yearning
for kind." Kind here is not used in the biblical sense of "after
its kind." It means someone who is like us rather than unlike us.
This "likeness" can be based on race, language, ethnicity,
gender, politics, religion, or other commonalities. We are simply
more comfortable with people who view the world the way we view
it and who share our values. Even Christians like to hang out
with others of the same denomination.
All of this is simply the way people are. We tend to
discriminate for, not against, our own human type.
A point exists, however, where our natural preference for
commonality becomes harmful. That point is reached when a person
is denied rights or opportunities because he or she is racially
or ethnically inferior. At this point it is considered no longer
an issue of comfort with one's own kind; it is committing or
permitting harm to another human thought to be of an inferior
kind.
When people's race is used to justify their harm, we're
talking racism and bigotry, pure and simple. This is unscriptural
at every level. No follower of Christ can justify such racism on
biblical, or any other, grounds. Throughout history racism has
been one of the scourges of humanity. It has done enormous harm,
snuffing out the potential of millions of human beings. Let us,
therefore, consider the biblical view.
IMAGES AND ANCESTORS
Every human being on planet Earth, no matter his or her
color, has common denominators with every other human being. One
of them is listed in Genesis 1:26, 27:
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our
likeness, and let them rule ..." So God created man in his
own image, in the image of God he created him; male and
female he created them.
Every human being - both men and women, regardless of
race-bears equally the image of God. In this sense, no one is
interior or superior. When it comes to intrinsic human worth, we
are all utterly equal. There is no such thing as a "master race."
All such notions are of the Devil, and they deserve to be
plowed back into the deepest, darkest recesses of hell.
A second thing we humans share is human ancestry. Eve was
"the mother of all living" (3:20), just as Adam was, in the human
sense, the father of all living. As Paul explained to the
Athenian philosophers, "From one man he made every nation of men,
that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the
times set for them and the exact places where they should live"
Acts 17:26).
In ancient times God distributed the early population over
the planet - our common heritage. We were given dominion over
portions of the earth and over its myriad creatures.
Collectively, the human race has a responsibility of
stewardship for the planet. That responsibility includes how we
treat each other....
BEING A NEIGHBOR
Besides these scriptures, Jesus himself said something about
interracial relations. In answer to the question "Who is my
neighbor?" He shared the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke
10:3037).
A man was victimized by robbers and left in a ditch to die.
A priest and a Levi "passed by on the other side" rather than
risk helping him. But a Samaritan took pity on the man,
medicating and binding his wounds and providing for his long-term
care.
After telling the story, Jesus asked, "Which of these three
do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of
robbers?" (v.36).
A Torah scholar in the crowd replied correctly: "The one who
had mercy on him." Jesus then instructed, "Go and do likewise"
(v.37).
Being a neighbor, He said, involves more than physical
proximity and feeling. We are neighbors in the way Christ taught
when we meet the real needs of people regardless of race or
ethnicity, political or financial status.
Paul wrote, "We who are strong ought to bear with the
failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us
should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up" (Romans
15:1,2). Viewed on a global scale, Paul is saying what Jesus
said, that it is the job of every Christian who can to build up,
not tear down, those who are having difficulty - without regard
to race or status. When we view others of any race and in any
condition, we should first see in them the image of God.
DEHUMANIZING HUMANS
A racist sees certain classes of people as inferior, as
less-than human, or even as untouchable. Throughout history a
pattern has existed of dehumanizing enemies or races and
ethnicities to justify persecuting them. In America black slaves
were once viewed as subhuman, and a similar, ugly phenomenon is
now occurring in Africa, Japan, and India. Though slavery is
illegal throughout the world, it is still practiced with impunity
in some regions. Slavery itself is dehumanizing, for it reduces
those created in God's image to mere chattel or commodities to be
bought and sold, sexually abused, tortured, or even murdered.
The global slave trade is one of the great scandals of the
twenty-first century. Those who wish to research this subject
further may read "Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global
Economy" by Kevin Bales. He writes, "Slavery is an obscenity. It
is not just stealing someone's labor; it is the theft of an
entire life."
That sums it up. No human being has the right to steal
another human life. Bales adds:
"There are more slaves alive today than all the people
stolen from Africa in the time of the transatlantic slave trade.
Put another way, today's slave population is greater than the
population of Canada, and six times greater than the population
of Israel."
Though slavery officially ended in the United States on
January 1, 1863, some 10,000 people in this country are still
forced to work against their will under threat of violence.
Roughly half of these work in prostitution or the so-called sex
industry. Nearly one-third are domestic workers, and one in ten
labors in agriculture. Most of the victims of forced labor are
from minorities - Chinese, Mexicans, and Vietnamese - but 38
different countries are represented in the forced labor market.
Racism, with its attendant evils and abuses, continues to
flourish because people with low values and great power make
it happen. Racism, slavery, and "human trafficking" usually have
an economic element. Those who force others to labor in their
service without payment or personal freedom do not believe in the
biblical principle "The worker deserves his wages" (1 Timothy
5:18). Racially based enslavement has as its basis the sin of
covetousness. A close look at Exodus 20:17 may confirm this.
EQUALITY AND BEAUTY
Racism denies the equality God granted every human
individual created in His image. It often results in abuse,
enslavement, and murder. When people learn to see all races and
ethnicities as precise equals, it will be much more difficult to
demean and dehumanize them. The more we see our commonalities,
the less we'll focus on our differences.
When God looked upon the masterpiece of His creation
- humanity - He saw that it was "very good" (Genesis 1:31).
The writer of Ecclesiastes acknowledged, "He has made
everything beautiful in its time" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Every race
reflects the divine image. Each is uniquely beautiful. Each has
its own aesthetic, its own giftings, and its own potential. God
is not willing that any of us should ultimately perish.
Jesus died for the Arab, the Asian, the African, and the
white man. He did not sacrifice Himself for a tribe, a race, or
an ethnicity but for every human being.
Racism has NO place in the heart or life of any Christian.
It is our duty to lift man, not to denigrate him. We are all
neighbors on planet Earth. We all share God's' resources. We live
under His watchful gaze. How we treat each other matters to God.
Brian Knowles - a Christian free-lance writer
................
Published in "The Bible Advocate" (January/February 2006) - a
magazine of the Church of God, 7th Day, Denver, USA
THE BIBLE AND RACISM by Pastor William E.GiLmore
How we view and interact with each other in tumultuous times
is important to our relationship with the Lord, and racism is one
of today's "hot button' issues in that interaction. This issue
raises its head across the religious spectrum, demonstrated by
the fact that we think in terms of black churches and white
churches. While we may not hate or mistreat the other, the very
fact that such polarization exists indicates a problem. As a
child, I was taught all human beings are created equal, that God
loves everyone, and that I should show God's love to others.
However, the subtle message was that when it came to people
of color, we should not play with them, speak to them, or be
around them. They needed to stay in their neighborhood and we in
ours; attend their own school and we, ours; and have their own
churches and we, ours. As a ten-year-old, I tagged along on my
dad's summer sales route. A black gentleman remarked to Dad that
he had a fine son. Remembering my manners, I quickly replied,
"Thank you, sir!" Returning to the van, I received a hard lick to
my bottom, with the instruction that "We never say 'sir' to
them."
Should we treat one person with love and godly respect,
while withholding it from another? Does God love one human soul
more than another? Does He show respect to one person and not
another?
God wants us to be consistent in all we do. A double-minded
man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). Hate all sin, not
just part of it. Show love to all people, not just a preferred
few. If we love those who love us and salute only our closest
brethren, we are equal with all sinners (Matthew 5:46-48).
God loved all races and nationalities, not just some of them. If
God loves them, we need to love them, too (John 3:16)!
Loving different races may be OK, but some draw a line at
fellowship or worship with them. But Peter said, "Of a truth I
perceive that God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34, KJV),
and Jesus taught that those who do the will of the Father in
heaven are our brethren (Matthew 5:4648). If Jesus could eat with
the basest sort - prostitutes, thieves, cheats - and Peter could
go to the Gentiles. who are we, black or white, to separate
ourselves from them?
As a pastor in the Deep South, I can truthfully testify that
coming together with others who are different from us brings
better worship and a deeper walk with God. The Lord has blessed
our congregation with black, white, Pakistani, and Indian saints
- all saints of the Most High God!
I urge you: Break down the artificial barriers that humanity
erects due to race, and see the Lord's blessing in ways you have
never seen beforel
.................
Pastor William E. Gilmore Serves the Mt.Zion Apostolic Church,
a seventh-day congregation in Mobile, AL. USA
ABOUT RACISM
WWJD ("What would Jesus do?") is an important approach to major
personal or social issues, like race. This question can help
followers of Christ respond to the complex issues of inter-ethnic
and interracial relations here in America and in other parts of
the world.
Jesus was born of Hebrew ethnicity. Racially, He was a Jew from
the tribe of Judah. What would He do if He lived, as do many of
us, in a diverse culture with different nationalities, languages,
colors, races, and tribes all sharing the same homeland?
Matter of fact, thats exactly where Jesus lived!
First century Palestine was a melting pot of its own, the
crossroads of three continents. Persons of Jewish-Hebrew heritage
were the majority in and around Jerusalem, but significant
numbers of Greeks and Romans (mostly European), Samaritan
crossbreeds, Asians and Arabians, Libyans and Cyrenians
(African), Egyptians and Mesopotamians, Cretans and Canaamtes
traveled this land from lower Judea north to Galilee - or called
it home.
So let's see how Jesus responded to this mix of races and
nations, just from the Gospel of Luke.
Jesus rejected the traditional idea of Jewish superiority and
triumphalism (3:8). His inaugural sermon in Nazareth stressed
that God had chosen non-Israelites also as recipients of His
grace (4:25-27), a fact that led to His near-death at the hands
of a prejudiced and provincial hometown crowd.
Christ associated with and ministered to those who were either
hated or considered social misfits and outcasts: Lepers (5:72),
publicans (v.27), Roman soldiers (7:1ff), Gadarene madmen (8:26),
and Samaritans (9:52; 17:16).
Jesus spoke of some outside Israel's racial heritage as more
worthy of God's kingdom than were many of the local Jews (10:13,
14; 11:32).
In Jesus' parables, a despised stranger was the hero of one story
(10:30-37). In another, lowly outsiders became the ultimate
objects of God's grace (14:23,24).
In traveling to Jerusalem, Jesus deliberately passed through
Samaria - land of half-breeds (17:11) - instead of detouring
around it as His Jewish compatriots often did. One lone Samaritan
returned to thank God for cleansing (w.12-19).
Jesus dealt with all sorts of people in an even-handed way, as
even His enemies admitted: "You do not show personal favoritism
..." (20:21).
Think of this: Luke, the universal Gospel, says Jesus birth
happened during registration of "all the world" and heralded
"peace on earth." That blessed event brought lowly, local
shepherds to the same level as regal monarchs from the east. And
among His final words before departure to heaven, Christ assigned
His followers to take the gospel of repentance and remission of
sins "to all nations."
................
From "The Bible Advocate" - a Church of God, 7th Day, Denver,
USA, publication, January/February 2006
3. Realistic Hope in Pessimistic Times
It's an opportunity to ....
REALISTIC HOPE IN PESSIMISTIC TIMES
Taking up residence in the house of faith
by Jan Johnson
Mike and Gina were disappointed. They'd planned to buy their
"dream house," but their loan fell through. They continued to
search and found a home, but it was nothing like their first
choice. They decided to make the best of it and see what
happened. Shortly after they moved in, Mike and Gina discovered
several advantages this "rebound home" had over their first
choice. With the financial decline, the other house would have
lost a lot of its worth and the payments would have been too
steep. Mike and Gina were actually grateful their original plan
did not work out. They could change their attitude quickly
because they didn't let their expectations ruin the idea that God
can bring good through anything.
This steadiness of purpose is difficult to attain. Instead
it's easier to choose either bleak despair ("Nothing works for
me") or blind optimism ("I know everything will work out"). Often
we shift back and forth between the two extremes.
But how do we move away from riding that seesaw of
despair/idealism to maintaining an outlook that sees beyond our
day-to-day circumstances and roller-coaster emotions? How do we
move from living in the house of fear to the house of faith? Here
are some ways to begin.
Moving to faith
Expect problems to occur. Accepting and even expecting life
to be full of challenges keeps us from sliding into despair when
trouble strikes. Often it's the sting of the surprise that stuns
us. Peter warned the early Christians, "Dear friends, do not be
surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though
something strange were happening to you" (1 Peter 4:12). When
we're surprised by problems, it intensifies our pain. We're
caught off guard by good friends who reject us, marriages that
fail, and trusted leaders who lose their tempers. Our naivete
causes our high expectations to undo us.
Sometimes in an effort to witness, Christians promise people
an unrealistically happy life if they trust Christ. We talk about
the fruit of the Spirit as if it's a package that arrives on the
day of their conversion. This isn't what God promises; God
promises to walk with us through the dark valleys, not eliminate
them.
Consider the merits of change
We find change threatening. Even positive changes, such as
marriage or purchasing a new home, increase stress.
The life of Ruth would have scored high on any stress test.
After her husband died, she followed her Hebrew mother-in-law to
faraway Judah. Before the move, Ruth had weighed the positive and
negative aspects of her leave-taking. She watched her
sister-in-law Orpah decide to stay in Moab, but she seems to have
asked herself why that would be any better. If Ruth went with
Naomi, she'd face many challenges, but at least she'd have
Naomi's companionship and ideals: "Where you go I will go, and
where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and
your God my God" (Ruth 1:16b).
Because of her openness to change, Ruth adjusted relatively
well to life in Judah. She gleaned in the fields with the poor
and then followed Naomi's advice in winning the admiration of
Boaz, who later became her husband (2:2,3; 3:1-18).
Considering the positive and negative aspects of a specific
change can give us the fresh perspective we need to continue.
What is the upside of the supposed wrong decision? Why might the
supposed good decision not be so great after all? We could even
see how the change might be good and might open
opportunities we would otherwise miss.
Adopt a spirit of determination
A favorite Bible verse that people quote is "I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13,
NKJV). Usually it's quoted to justify wearing ourselves out and
avoiding proper rest, which ignores the context.
From a dirty prison cell, the jailed scholar Paul summarized
his approach to life:
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every
situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in
plenty or in want. I can do everything through [Christ] who
gives me strength (vv.12,13).
Paul's determination to preach the Christian faith to the
Roman world was not dampened by the fact that he was chained to a
Roman guard. Other people may have thought that his work was on
hold while he sat in jail, but Paul seemed to conclude that he
was simply preaching to a new audience of Roman soldiers.
Feed on positive thoughts.
Another astounding mindset of Paul was a focus on what was
wise and good and lovely. Again, from his prison cell, he
encouraged the Philippians to fill their minds by meditating "on
things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious -
the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to
praise, not things to curse" (v.8, The Message).
Paul wasn't proposing an unrealistic "Don't worry - be
happy" approach. In the same letter he mentioned problems caused
by a dispute between two people (v.2). He acknowledged problems
and suggested solutions, but advised us to focus on the best
things around us.
To maintain a positive focus
I keep what a friend calls my "foot warmer" file. It
includes congratulatory cards, thank you notes, and words of
encouragement that celebrate how God can work through an ordinary
person like me. They warm my spirit just as thick socks warm my
feet on a cold night.
One of my "foot warmers" is the impressive business card of
a young man I taught in Bible school many years ago. Then he was
a shy, disinterested high school student on the fringes of
gang activity. All those encouraging words, pats on the back, and
sluggish conversations over the years eventually paid off. When I
need to focus on positive aspects of my ministry, I look at this
card.
Stay open to the unknown factor
Circumstances may cause us to make comments such as "That
friend ignored me" or "I just need to change jobs." But later we
discover that our friend didn't even see us and that our
overbearing boss is being replaced. There's so much we don't
know. Even when we think we know, God might be working behind the
scenes. Just as "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in
the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12), there is often a way
that seems wrong to a person, but its end is the way of life. A
lot of what we do is guesses and hunches. We do better when we
humbly move ahead a step at a time, listening for guidance and
being open to things we have no knowledge or understanding about.
Depending on God runs counter to our culture that trains us to
manage time, form goals, and map out strategies. While organizing
our lives is good, we can keep our minds open that God "leads me
in the paths of righteousness" (Psalm 23:3, NKJV) - not
necessarily telling us the destination, but inviting us to follow
along and usually helping us see only the next step.
Realism and Optimism
All these attitudes support each other. When we face
challenges, it's time to feed on positive thoughts. When a change
seems untimely, we rely on the unknown factor.
Jesus alluded to this combined approach by saying, "Be as
shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16). Armed
with this shrewd realism and innocent optimism, we will neither
ignore problems nor become consumed by them. We may even decide
they were just what we needed to move forward.
.....................
Jan Johnson writes from Simi, CA. All Scripture quotations are
taken from the New International Version, unless otherwise noted.
Scripture quotation noted "The Message" taken from "The Message."
From "The Bible Advocate" - January/February 2010 - a publication
of The Church of God, Seventh Day, Denver, CO. USA.
4. Are YOU moving with God?
A GOD OF MOTION
by Richard Cress
Like many others, I've pondered this question: "Is God
waiting on His church to wake up and move ahead in the world, or
is the church waiting on God to move upon a sceptical, sinful
world?" Indications are that God moves in response to the
threatening forces of society. Consider this promise: "When the
enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up
a standard against him" (Isaiah 59:b). God has certainly
intervened and moved in behalf of His people before.
In another case, the Lord said He had seen the affliction
and heard the cry of His people and had come down to deliver them
(Exodus 3:7,8), suggesting that His people's prayers preceded
God's great acts in saving the children of Israel out of Egypt.
This is the principle operating in 2 Chronicles 7:14: God will
forgive the sins of His people and heal their land if they repent
of their wicked ways and turn to Him.
These scriptures sound as though it is up to God's people to
cry out to the Lord and clean up their ways. So we will say,
"Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ
shall give thee light" (Ephesians 5:14, KJV).
Many Christians agree that the church sleeps today and needs
to awaken and cry out to the Lord for deliverance.
Yet in the case of Israel, many years transpired before
God's deliverance was complete. He seemed to choose an
appropriate time to save them from bondage. They wandered in the
wilds for forty years, and they caused it, right? - the unbelief
of so many of their generation.
Still, the imposition of that period was decreed by God. He
would not "move" them into the Promised Land until the iniquity
of the Amorites in that land was complete (Genesis 15:16).
Does our Lord have a certain time when He moves, intervenes,
and delivers? That is apparently the case. Abraham and Sarah
received a child in God's timing, not theirs. The Lord said that
Israel did not often understand God's timing. "Yea, the stork in
the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the
crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my
people know not the judgment of the LORD" (Jeremiah 8:7, KJV).
God does have a schedule?
To reconcile the two puzzles of whether God is waiting on
the church or the saints are waiting on God, my answer has become
a resounding yes! God moves, puts a burden in the hearts of His
people; then they move in repentance, crying out for deliverance.
And again God moves in their behalf.
Presently, I am hearing many people quote the great promises
of 2 Chronicles 7:14, where God has stated:
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land.
Is it coincidental that so many of our brethren love this
verse? Is it the conditions of our society that make us want to
turn to God? Or could it be that it is also God's timing as He
moves upon the hearts of His people?
Circumstance and culture press in upon God's people; they
begin to awaken. As they pray, God heals and delivers. It was God
in the first place, placing the burden upon us that we might pray
and receive His blessing.
God moves in our behalf to deliver us as we pray for Him to
move.
......
Richard Cress of Muldrow, OK, serves as pastor in
Sabbathobserving churches of God in Muskogee, OK, and Ft.Smith,
AR.
From the "Bible Advocate" - Jan/Feb 2010 - a publication of the
Church of God, Seventh Day, Denver, CO. USA
...................
Note:
The moving may be a call to REPENTANCE as the church of Laodicea
is called to do in Revelation 3. Now is a good time to re-read
that passage of Scripture and them examine if you personally need
the oil of the Spirit to open your eyes to spiritual truth and
health. Have you fallen into the trap of thinking all is well; I am
increased with spiritual goods; but you may be blind and naked
and if so, God calls you to MOVE with Him!
It could be the church you attend (if any) is not moving either,
maybe everyone has gone to sleep, sitting in the "comfortable
pew" - just simply no longer growing in grace and knowledge of
our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Maybe the people have stopped
reading their Bible, stopped hungering and thirsting after
righteousness, stopped proving all things and holding fast to
that which is good.
If so, maybe God is calling you to MOVE ON .... find where truth
is being taught; get out of that comfortable pew, and move into a
fellowship that is alive and growing.
Jesus said that before He returned deceptions would be so great
that IF it was possible even the very elect would be deceived
(Matthew 24). The every elect CANNOT be deceived, but you need to
make your calling and election sure as Peter admonished us. You
need to be moving with God, for He is constantly revealing the
deep things of Himself; that does not mean some deep fancy "idea"
that man comes up with, makes it sound all spiritual and supposed
"insight." Many speak about fancy theology, they speak as if it's
from God. Yes there is a warning in the Lord's word about that
very thing, for He tell us: "They go when I have not sent them,
they speak when I gave them nothing to speak about. They are
false prophets, coming in my name when I have not sent them"
A lady wrote to me recently, bless her heart, and asked what I
though about the "sea of glass" and all that would happen. I gave
her the few Scriptures that mention the sea of glass. Showed her a
FEW things that would be done when we meet Christ on the sea of glass -
having a wedding feast, recieve our rewards, some would have the
harps of God and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb (Rev.14).
Jesus will bring our reward with Him to give to every man according to
his work (Rev.22:12). No doubt on the sea of glass, could well be
the marriage supper of the Lamb and His wife (Rev.19:6-9) will be on
the sea of glass. AND THAT IS IT ... nothing else is told to us BUT
I'LL BET there are people out there telling you MANY things going to
go on when on the sea of glass, they're probably writing many pages
to get you thinking they have some fancy "insight" given only to them
in some "dream from the Lord" as to all the nitty-gritty about stuff
that will take place on that sea in that day. Once they step out of the
words of the Scripture, they are often with theological "spiritual"
sounding words, LEADING YOU DOWN THE GARDEN PATH into the land of fairy
tales that have no ground in Scripture. Oh they may try and connect this
parable and that parable AND THEN ADD it to the "sea of glass" not telling
you that parables break down as some point. The truth of a parable is just
to make a point or two of some important truth. And what happend at a Jewish
marriage feast does NOT automatically mean it will be applied on the sea of
glass marriage feast with the Lamb.
Some people get really caught up with these fellows who come along and practically
write a book on "All that will happen on the sea of glass" - adding all kinds
of ideas that have no basis in Scripture. God has a STRONG WARNING to those who
either DIMINISH from or ADD to the word of God. If they do not REPENT of such
theological error .... well what they will get ain't very pleasand at all, there
will be wailing and nashing of teeth.
Yes, you need to move with God, move closer in mind and
understanding, while you prove all things. God will guide you by
His word, hence you need to have your nose in it, reading
and studying it; then you'll move with God.
Keith Hunt
5. Offending and Being Offended
It's a serious matter!
by
Keith Hunt
We shall clearly see shortly from the mouth of Jesus Himself
that OFFENDING others is a very serious matter. First, let's see
how a popular English Dictionary defines the word "offend."
"1. to hurt the feelings of, make angry, displease ...... 2. to
affect in an unpleasant or disagreeable way...... 3..... to cause
to sin: If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out (Matthew
5:29). 4.....a. to sin against; wrong (a person). b. to violate;
transgress (a law).... (World Book Dictionary).
W.E.Vine has much to say on the words in the Greek NT that would
come under the subject of this study. We shall concentrate on the
Greek word "skandalon" and "skandalizoo" which comes from the
word "skandalon." Here is what Vine says:
"1. skandalon (he gives the Greek and then the number 4625 as in
Strong's Concordance - Keith Hunt) originally was the name of a
part of a trap to which the bait is attached, hence, the trap or
snare itself, as in Rom.11:9, RV, 'stumblingblock,' quoted from
Psa.69:22, and in Rev.2:14, for Balsam's device was rather a trap
for Israel than a stumblingblock to them, and in Matt.16:23, for
in Peter's words the Lord perceived a snare laid for Him by
Satan.
'In the NT skandalon is always used metaphorically, and
ordinarily of anything that arouses the prejudice, or becomes a
hinderance to others, or causes them to fall by the way.....'
(From Notes on Galatians by Hogg and Vine, p.262)......
skandalizoo (he gives the Greek and number 4624 as in Strong's
Concordance - Keith Hunt), from skandalon (Offence....),
signifies 'to put a snare or stumblingblock in the way,' always
metaphorically in the NT, in the same ways as the noun .... It is
used 14 times in Matthew, 8 in Mark, twice in Luke, twice in
John; elsewhere in 1 Cor.8:13 (twice) and 2 Cor.11:29...-
End of quote from Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old
and New Testament Words.
This study will focus on giving offence that causes someone
to stumble or fall, and the other side of the coin, how to
safe-guard ourselves from being offended and hence our possible
fall.
THE IMPORTANCE OF NOT OFFENDING SOMEONE
Anyone who has lived for any length of time, even a very
young child, and had contact with other human beings, will have
experienced being offended, and also offending others in some
shape, manner, or form. Our inner emotions tell us when we are
offended, by what someone has said to or about us, as well as
what they may have done towards us in actions. And the look on
the face or the tone of voice, as well as what might be openly
said to us, or their actions towards us, from others, tells us
when we have offended others.
Sooner or later in life, most of us will experience being
offended, and it is the rare individual who goes through life
never offending others. Getting offended is one thing, for that
is something that takes place first of all WITHIN us, in the
mind, and then may or may not manifest itself OUT of us, in our
words and/or actions. Getting offended can be much easier to
control or shall we say, not allow ourself to be overcome by or
consumed with, if we are a strong willed person who has learnt
how to master their emotions. But offending others can be far
more complicated and often much harder to control. Why? Well for
on very simple reason. You can be a master at controlling every
word and physical action that comes from you as you converse with
other people, but the fact is that some people will get offended
merely by the way you LIVE, by you being the very person you are.
You may be working in a company where you have little or no
verbal contact with a certain person, but when in the same room,
you know by their actions or the way they look at you that they
are offended by you. They know what you are in personality
and/or manner of life (your beliefs and practices) and they are
offended by you.
The Bible has much to say about this topic of offending and
being offended. It is indeed a two sided coin. There is the
aspect of what God's word has to say about NOT offending OTHERS,
which will include looking at that side of the coin as to
offending others in a deliberate way, and the fact that we offend
some merely by our Christian life style of beliefs and practices.
We need to understand what God says on both aspects of that side
of the issue.
Jesus pulled no punches on this subject. He spoke plainly
about the seriousness of not offending others to cause them to
stumble and fall.
"But whoso shall OFFEND one of these little ones which
believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were
hanged about his neck, and that he was drowned in the depth
of the sea. Woe unto the world because of OFFENSES! for it
must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by
whom the offense comes!" (Mat.18:6,7).
Such is the way of the human heart in the world. Offenses
will be part of the way of living in this world, at some point in
time, but Jesus said "woe to that man by whom the offense comes."
And He had already explained in no uncertain words about the
seriousness of those who give offence and what would have been
better for them (verse 6).
Because it was such a serious matter Jesus went on to say
that every effort should be made by a person NOT to cause to
stumble and fall ANYONE, but especially the little new and in
many ways the weak ones coming to Him and the Father. Note the
following carefully, all added comments are mine.
"Wherefore if your hand or your foot (what you literally perform
and do) offend you (causes you to help stumble and fall another)
cut them off, and cast them from you (get rid of your offensive
actions), it is better for you to enter into life halt or maimed
(doing without an action that you maybe in Christ have a liberty
to have - see what Paul said in Romans 14:13,21), rather than
having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
And if your eye offend you (what you perceive and see as your
right and liberty to think and act and speak), pluck it out and
cast it from you (if it is going to cause someone to fall and
stumble from salvation): it is better for you to enter into life
with one eye (not doing all the things in word and action you
possibly have liberty to do in Christ - Romans 14:13,21
principle, as well as the wrong things of the mouth and actions
that would cause someone to fall from salvation), rather than
having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
TAKE HEED that you despise not (by giving offense as to cause to
stumble) ONE of these LITTLE ONES; for I say unto you, that in
heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which
is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to SAVE that which WAS
LOST. How think you? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of
them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine, and
goes into the mountains, and seeks after that which has gone
astray? And if so be that he finds it, truly I say unto you, he
rejoices more over that sheep than the ninety and nine which went
not astray. Even so it is NOT THE WILL of your Father which is in
heaven, that ONE of these little ones should PERISH" (verses
8-14).
God the Father is in the business of SAVING souls, bringing
them back from being lost, and saving them into eternal life. He
does not want to see ANYONE perish (2 Peter 3:9). Hence those
already called and chosen, those already walking in truth and
light, already a part of His family, had better make sure they
are extremely careful in word and deed, not to cause anyone to
stumble and fall from salvation that the Father is working with
to bring to eternal life, especially the little ones who are new
in the faith, and so in many ways the weaker ones, who can then
in many ways be that much more easy to offend and be made to
stumble and fall.
We as Christians need to understand very clearly that our
Father in heaven does not want us to be like a "bull in a china
shop" walking around crashing and smashing and stepping on others
with our mouth or actions, especially those who are of fine
delicate china, that will just about break from a bad look from
someone, let alone the wrong word or action at the wrong time
from someone either just carnally sinning against them, or
even using the liberty they have in Christ, when they should be
refraining from using that liberty (all that Paul was talking
about in Romans 14).
We must really come to understand this very important
principle, command, and law of the NT (New Testament), about not
causing offense as to cause others to stumble away from
righteousness and salvation. If you have not yet come to see the
importance of this instruction from Jesus then you need to mark
with a yellow marker in your Bible these words of Christ as found
in Matthew 13:41-42.
"The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall
GATHER OUT of His kingdom ALL things that OFFEND (cause to
stumble and fall), and them which do iniquity; And shall
cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and
gnashing of teeth."
The NT shows that those who first come to Christ are as
"babes in Christ" - still on the "milk of the word" - still
having to put down firm solid roots into the good ground to
establish themselves and to make their calling and election sure
(2 Peter 1:1-11). They are at this stage in their salvation the
MOST vulnerable to spiritual attack and stumbling as to falling
away. They can be at this point in their walk with the seed of
the Word, be easily offended by others, by persecutions, by
trials, and so fall and stumble away from God (see Mark 4:16-17).
We need to make sure that it is not us, in word or action, that
causes someone to fall from the grace of God. Those new little
ones in Christ, we especially need to be careful with, to help
strengthen, encourage, love, serve with kindness and humbleness
and gentleness, so they can be built-up in Christ and lay down
good firm solid roots that can never be plucked up by any wind,
storm, or adversity that may come from the world or Satan who is
still roaming around like a lion trying to devour and kill anyone
he can (1 Peter 5:8).
In all this context we are, and Jesus was, talking about the
family of God, those whom the Father was calling, seeking after,
working with, wanting in His family NOW, in this life time, and
how we were to conduct ourselves within that context, and within
and among those of the Father's children, as His household of
faith. We are talking in this context as we should have our
responsibility towards every other individual in the Church of
the living God. I will have more to say on this as we look later
at what Paul wrote on the subject in certain specific ways and
situations that were happening in the churches of Rome and
Corinth.
Before all that, I do want to address the situation that
certainly arose with Jesus as He taught and preached and lived
during His three and one half year ministry. The situation that
some were offended by Christ by the fact of who He said He was,
how He taught (with power and authority) and by how He lived and
what He said at times. I refer you to Mark 6:5-6 and John 6:60-66
for just two examples.
Jesus knew that not all who could be classified as
"disciples" of His were called and chosen by the Father. They
were "interested" in what He had to say and teach, to a point
only. Most of the population of Palestine, including the
religious leaders of the Jewish sects of His day, were far from
coming to God in humility and repentance. Most of the population
were not being called or chosen (John 6:44,65) by the Father at
that time. They were not then a part of the family of God, nor
were they apart of the "little ones that believe on me" as Jesus
put it.
It is just a fact of this physical human life that there
will be many, the majority out there, who could be "offended" in
their mind by the mere fact that we are who we are. By the fact
we say we are Christians, by the fact that we believe and read
the Bible, by the fact that we hold to certain doctrinal beliefs,
and practice certain ways of living that even effect physical
things we do or do not do. By the fact that we do our very best
in word and actions towards all these people, so not to upset
them and get them angry and hostile towards us, from the fact
that we are who we are as Christians, many of them may be
offended in and at us.
This was surely true of Jesus. Many in His day were offended
in and at Him by Him being and living and talking in a way of
life that was simply being a Son of the Father in heaven.
Having people being offended at you because you live and talk and
walk as a child of the heavenly Father, is NOT WHAT JESUS WAS
TALKING ABOUT in the verses we have so far looked at.
Such living, while trying even to be kind and polite to the
unconverted world, will in many cases automatically give offence
to those who are unconverted and not being called by the Father
to His light of truth. We need to just be careful that we live
and move around this world to be under the directions of what
Peter said as to how to conduct ourselves in the world (1 Peter
2:12-20). We need to practice "well doing" that we may put to
silence the "ignorance" of foolish men. If we suffer by the hands
of them, we need to make sure it is far "well doing" which is
then pleasing to God.
Yes, we are to try to live "peaceably with all men" as Paul
said we should (Romans 12:18), as much as is within our power. We
are to do all the things that Paul said in that last part of
chapter 12 as we live in this world and rub shoulders with those
not called to the family of God at this time. Yet the fact
remains, as it was with Jesus, who did all these things perfectly
and without sin, some will be offended at us for being Christians
and living the way we live.
We can do nothing about this. The Father understands this.
Jesus understands this. He lived it. That situation is not what
Christ was discussing in these verses of giving no offense to the
little ones that believe in Him and that the Father is searching
and seeking as the lost sheep to bring home.
OFFENCE FROM THE MOUTH
The word of the Lord has a great deal to say about the mouth
and the words that come out of it. Jesus said that from the
abundance of the heart the mouth did speak. Of course the mouth
brings forth words only as was first in the mind which then tells
the mouth to speak or not to speak.
Solomon in Ecclesiastes 5:2,3 wrote: "Be not rash with your
mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter any thing before
God: for God is in heaven, and you upon earth: therefore let your
WORDS BE FEW. For a dream comes through the multitude of
business, and a fool's voice is known by MULTITUDES OF WORDS."
Many of us need to carry around this wise proverb in our
wallets or handbags and read it often through the months of the
year. It really would do wonders for us in our daily lives if we
make it a part of our practice and way of living. To put it in
the modem vernacular, it is saying: Think before you speak, put
your mind into gear before you speak, and do not speak as much
and as often as you may want to.
Solomon also wrote: "A word FITLY spoken is like apples of
gold in pictures of silver" (Prov.25:11).
Just imagine solid apples of gold, say about half a dozen of
them, think of the value of them in green backs they would be
worth. Then place them in a solid silver frame, the value in
dollars even more now. Not just the dollar value would be great,
but the beauty of such to look at would be magnificent. Such is
the value and beauty of someone who has mastered the control of
the tongue and knows how and when to speak.
But alas, even for far too many Christians, the tongue seems
to be one of the hardest and last enemies that is brought under
subjection to the mind of Christ. James was writing to Christians
of the twelve tribes of Israel (James 1:1-2) and he had to write
to them about the power of the tongue for evil or good.
Let us remind ourselves in this study of not offending
others by reading what he wrote about the control of the tongue,
so we can remember that it is often through the tongue FIRST that
we give offense and cause someone to stumble and fall.
"We all make mistakes in all kinds of ways, but the man who
can claim that he never says wrong thing can consider
himself perfect, for if he can control his tongue he can
control every other part of his personality! Men control the
movements of a large animal like the horse with a tiny bit
placed in its mouth. Ships too, for all their size and
momentum they have with a strong wind behind them, are
controlled by a very small rudder according to the course
chosen by the helmsman. The human tongue is physically
small, but what tremendous effects it can boast of! A whole
forest can be set ablaze by a tiny spark of fire, and the
tongue is a fire, a whole world of evil. It is set within
our body members but it can poison the whole body, it can
set the whole of life ablaze, fed with the fires of hell.
Beasts, birds, reptiles and all kinds of sea-creatures can
be, and if fact are, tamed by men, but no one can tame the
human tongue. It is an evil always liable to break out, and
the poison it spreads is deadly. We use the tongue to bless
out Lord and Father and we use the same tongue to curse our
fellow-man, who are all created in God's likeness. Blessing
and curses come out of the same mouth - surely, my brothers,
this is the sort of thing that never ought to happen! Have
you ever known a spring to give sweet and bitter water from
the same source? Have you ever seen a fig-tree with a crop
of olives, or seen figs growing on a vine? It is just as
impossible for salt water to produce fresh" (James 3:2-12,
Phillips Modem English translation).
Indeed, how many family fights, where people bless and then
curse each other, have been started by the words that come from
the tongue? How many families have been torn apart for days or
months and even for years, because of things that were said by
those family members to one another or to others, coming from the
mouth that would then bless someone else or give praises to God
at their church. The bickering, the slander, the gossip, the
bad-mouthing, the caustic remarks, the "poking-fun-at," the
cutting sarcasms, the belittling, and all the other evils and
un-pleasantries that can come from the lips, even the lips of
Christians towards and about other Christians .... well it's a
good job people are not recording us all the time, then again if
we knew people were recording us, I think our speech would be
often very different than what it is at times.
James makes it clear than if we have good control over our
tongue, using it in a way that is pleasing to our heavenly
Father, we are well on the way to spiritual maturity and
perfection that Jesus said should be our aim in our Christian
life (Mat.5:48).
Let us, with the power of the Spirit of the Lord, really get
to grips with this little member of ours and control our speech
so we will not offend the members of the body of Christ,
especially the "little ones."
OFFENDING OUR BRETHREN THROUGH ACTIONS
Read through the NT it is not hard to find the verses that
are clear and plain regarding actions of sin and gross misconduct
that doing to others could very well lead them to be offended and
to stumble and fall, to think and say to themselves, "well if
that is acting as a Christian towards me then I do not want
anything to do with the Bible and Christianity." Many have so
been offended by those calling themselves "Christian" and have
walked away from serving God, because of the actions of others
towards them, who claimed to be followers of Jesus Christ.
We can see some of the 'works of the flesh" very openly
listed by Paul in Galatians 5, verses 19 to 21.
"Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear
(obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency,
idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill
temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit
(fractions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), envy,
drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand,
just as I did previously, that those who do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Amplified Bible).
It is not very hard to put some of these words that describe
some of the works of the flesh, into real life situations that
some Christians have done towards other Christians, and see that
such could cause some to stumble and fall, be so offended, that
they walk away from not only the family of God but the Father and
Christ, and walk right back into the world and the net of Satan.
There have been some young ladies in the Church of God who have
been taken advantage of in a sexual manner by men in the Church
of God, some of the men were minsters. The damage of this
immorality, indecency, and selfishness on the part of these men,
was in some cases un-repairable with some of the ladies, who
became so offended they did stumble away from God, while others
have for years (and maybe still) been fighting a terrible
spiritual battle to stay alive in the family of God.
The heresies, out-and-out crazy theology ideas that have
come among the children of God at times (as Peter said they would
- 2 Peter 2) have destroyed and caused to fall many who have left
the straight and narrow way of the Lord, and some even to the
physical death of themselves in suicide.
Many Christians acting out of strife and anger (ill
tempter), together often with division and party spirit, have
been responsible for offending some to the point of giving up on
all religion that calls itself "Christian" and will have nothing
whatsoever to do with reading the Bible.
We could go on with more examples of the effects of the
works of the flesh as listed in Galatians 5 and in other passages
of the NT, but there is no need, as most people can see the plain
obvious from such works that may be done by some in the Church of
God towards others who are part of the same family of people.
What is more insidious and far less open and harder to see and
then to acknowledge, is the actions and practices of life that
are within the liberty and law of God, which people in the family
of God can do with the Father's blessing as such, but which if
done towards and in the presence of some children of God, could
cause them to be offended and to stumble.
The principle of this is given by Paul in 1 Cor.10:23,24.
"All things (that are within the law of God) are lawful for
me (to practice), but all things are not expedient
(profitable for spiritual growth in others): all things
(that are within the law of God) are lawful for me (to
perform), but all things (that I may have lawful freedom to
practice) edify not (other people to spiritual maturity and
strength). Let (because of this) no man seek his own (doing
what he may lawfully do in God's sight), but every man
another's (spiritual wellbeing and growth to maturity)"
(Amplification myself).
We shall first see from the book of Romans, chapter 14, how
Paul himself expounds and explains his comments in the above two
verses. I shall be quoting from the Amplified Bible.
"As for the man who is a weak believer, welcome him (into
your fellowship), but not to criticize his opinions or pass
judgment on his scruples or perplex him with discussions.
One (man's faith permits him to) believe he may eat anything
(within the foods laws of God - Keith Hunt), while a weaker
one (limits his) eating to vegetables. Let not him who eats
look down on or despise him who abstains....."
Paul is speaking about the ones that Jesus spoke about - the
"little ones" who believe on Christ and coming to join the family
of God. They are new in the faith, still relatively as babes in
Christ, they come sometimes with pre-conceived ideas and
theological practices which may not be the entire truth, but what
they have at times is not wrong either, such as someone believing
they should not eat meat, but eat in a way that today we say they
are "a vegetarian" in diet. No where in the entire Bible,
certainly not under the NT, does God demand and command anyone to
eat meat. If someone wants to be a "vegetarian" in diet under the
NT they have that freedom and liberty in Christ to so order their
diet in that manner. On the other hand God's word in its complete
fullness shows that eating meat (clean meat under His dean laws
of meat eating - Lev.11; Deut.14) is also approved by Him, if
someone so wishes to regulate their diet to contain some meat
eating.
Let's take it one step further. Someone new to the faith,
hence in that sense "weak" in the faith, comes into the Church of
God believing it is wrong to eat meat, their theological
understanding at that time says to them that meat eating is
condemned by God. For them to eat meat or even be in the presence
of someone in the church who is eating meat would defile their
conscience and really up-set them. Is the meat eating church
member who invites them over for a meal and fellowship to serve
them a meat dish? Is that member while maybe not serving them
meat, eat a big huge T-bone steak in front of them during that
meal? Paul would most emphatically, as we shall clearly see, say
"no" to both questions. Under that situation the kindness and
best way to ensure the weak brother/sister is not offended, is to
serve and eat no meat whatsoever at that meal.
Notice it as Paul explains a little later, "None of us lives
to himself (but to the Lord)," (verse 7). We are to do things,
those actions of deeds, that will be pleasing under that specific
situation, to serve the Lord in helping and bringing a weaker
brother in theological issues (such as the theological topic of
eating meat or not eating meat as within the law of God) to
maturity, and it may be that the mature thing to do is accept the
weaker brother with his views until he/she grows in grace and
knowledge. Not to do anything that may cause them to feel
defiled, sin against their conscience, and so possibly stumble
and fall.
If we do the wrong action, then we may have put ourselves in
the position where Paul says, "Why do you criticize and pass
judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you look down upon or
despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment
seat of God...." We shall all have to answer for any wrong words
or actions we may have done to others to hurt their feelings,
especially if it is towards those who are still weak in the
faith, and have yet to learn much more about the word and truths
of the Lord, which you may have already come to see, have already
grown into those truth, but they still have not.
Because of all this, because we shall have to answer to the
Lord as to how we have conducted ourselves towards each other and
even more so towards the weaker brother in the faith, Paul
continues to say, "Then let us no more criticize and blame and
pass judgment on one another, but rather decide and endeavor
never to PUT A STUMBLING BLOCK or an obstacle or a hinderance in
the way of a brother" (verse 13). Paul continues to expound on
his thought in verse 15, "But if your brother is being pained or
his feelings hurt or if he is being injured by what you eat. (You
have ceased to be living and conducting yourself by the standard
of love towards him.) Do not let what you eat hurt or cause the
ruin of one for whom Christ died!
If you go ahead do something that you may be entirely at
liberty to do in the sight of God and within His law, but a
brother cannot see that and is offended by what you do in his
sight, he may well speak evil of you, so speaking evil of an
action that is really proper but he not knowing or understanding
that it is. That situation Paul then addressed in verse 16, "Do
not therefore let what seems good to you be considered an evil
thing (by someone else). (In other words, do not give occasion
for others to criticize that which is justifiable for you.)"
There are many things we could do that would come under this
principle that Paul is laying down, being careful in our actions
not to hurt or offend or cause to stumble a brother or sister in
the fellowship of Christ. Paul still goes on to further expound
this very important teaching of living ones life and doing things
in front of others that takes into consideration what you know is
their feeling of emotion and theological belief on such matters.
"The right thing is to eat no meat, or drink no wine (at
all), or (do anything else) if it makes your brother stumble
or hurts his conscience or offends or weakens him. Your
personal convictions (on such matters) - exercise (them) as
in God's presence, keeping them to yourself (striving only
to know the truth and obey His will). Blessed (happy, to
be envied) is he who has no reason to judge himself for what
he approves (who does not convict himself by what he chooses
to do)" (verses 21,22).
Remember now, this is all talking about only those things
that are WITHIN the law of Gad, it is not talking about doing
something outside of the will and law and commandments of God,
and you being quite content within your conscience to practice
such unlawful deeds. Paul is talking about doing things that you
know are approved of by God, allowed by the Lord, that you have
freedom do practice within the law of the Lord, but another
Christian brother has not yet come to see that, they are still
weak in the faith on that point. Paul continues,
"But the man who has doubts (misgivings, an uneasy
conscience) about eating, and then eats (perhaps because of
you), stands condemned (before God), because he is not true
to his convictions and he does not act from faith. For
whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin
(whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by
God is sinful)" (verse 23).
All this is in the context of how the more mature Christian
person, the more grounded in the truths and faith of God,
individual, should live in actions when in the presence of those
"little ones" - those babes in Christ, those weak in the faith.
Paul makes this plain that this is the context as we see from the
first verses of chapter 15.
"We who are strong (in our convictions and of robust faith)
ought to bear with the feelings and the frailties and the
tender scruples of the weak; (we ought to help carry the
doubts and qualms of others) and not to please ourselves.
Let each of us make it a practice to please (make happy) his
neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, to edify him
(to strengthen him and build him up spiritually). For Christ
did not please Himself (gave no thought to His own
interests); but, as it is written, The reproaches and abuses
of those who reproached and abused you fell on Me (Ps.69:9)"
(verses 1-3).
Paul found it necessary to teach this overall principle of
loving your fellow man by being careful of the things you do
towards them, and in their presence, to the church at Corinth. We
find his instruction in what we call his first letter (actually
he wrote to them before that letter at least one other), chapter
ten. We pick it up in verse 23, the added comments and
amplification is mine.
"All things (that are within the will and laws of God) are
lawful for me (permissible and legitimate for me to do), but
all things (within God's law) are not expedient (helpful,
profitable and edifying for spiritual maturity for others):
all things (allowed by God) are lawful for me, but all
things (I may do and practice) edify not (they may cause
someone to be offended and stumble in their growth towards
Christ).Let no man seek his own (seek his own pleasure only,
his own advantage and profit), but every man another's (let
him be mindful of his neighbors spiritual welfare and
feelings on certain matters)" (verses 23,24).
Now before we read the next verses we need to understand the
background from which Paul is expressing and bringing forth his
example. The pagan religions had their Temples, their Priesthood,
and their animal sacrifices, all done towards worship of their
gods. Often their would be much meat of the animal left over from
their sacrificial altar. It was not just thrown out or given to
the dogs, but taken and sold in the common meat-market of the
town. Often the meat was "clean" meat as far as the laws of
"clean and unclean" foods were concerned in the Scriptures of the
OT (Old Testament). No problem there, but because it had been
offered on a pagan altar to a false pagan god, many Jews and
Christians would deem the meat "spiritually" unclean and would be
offended by the thought of buying and eating it. To them it would
be as if they were partaking in the worship of an idol, and hence
doing something that would be against the will of the true God.
Their conscience would be defiled.
The meat itself and the animal from which it came had done
no wrong. The animal did not say, "well I'll worship this idol
and I will kill myself in sacrifice to this idol" so there was no
evil in the meat per se. But the conscience of someone eating
that meat might be defiled if they ate it because they would have
in their mind the view that they were worshipping an false idol
of paganism. But others knowing that the meat itself was not to
blame for false idol worship and knowing that there was nothing
defiled within the meat itself, would buy and eat that meat from
the meat-market, their conscience not being defiled one bit. They
knew it was within the laws of God to so buy and eat such meat,
and that the Lord did not hold them as sinning by so doing.
This is what Paul is now talking about in the following
verses.
"Whatsoever is sold in the shambles (market place), that eat
(that which is within the foods laws of God), asking no
question (no need to ask if it had been at one time on a
pagan altar in a pagan temple) for conscience sake (your
conscience as it knows that the meat is not evil of itself):
For the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof (you
know the word of God and so you know you are not defiled by
eating any clean meat, even if it was once upon the altar of
an idol).
If (on the other hand) any of them that believe NOT bid you
to a feast (a meal of any kind) and you be disposed to go;
whatsoever (in the way of clean foods) is set before you,
eat, asking no question for conscience sake (no need to
worry about asking if the food had ever been offered to a
false god in a religious ceremony, for your conscience knows
very well that such food is not evil in itself).
But, if any man say unto you, 'This is offered in sacrifice
unto idols,' eat NOT for his sake that said this to you, eat
not for conscience sake (for the earth is the Lord's, and
the fullness thereof): Conscience I say, NOT YOUR OWN, BUT
OF THE OTHER (for if you eat it is his conscience and mind
that will be offended, made weak, be upset, possibly made to
stumble and fall as far as growing in knowledge of truth and
of Christ). For why is my LIBERTY (I know the truth on this
matter, I know it is within my Christian liberty to eat this
food) judged of another's conscience? (I'm not going to
refrain normally speaking and if I was under a different
situation where no person was present who was upset in their
conscience about someone eating such meat offered in
sacrifice to idols).
For if I by grace (knowing the truth of God, being
spiritually more mature and having been given more knowledge
and grace) be a partaker (use my liberty in so eating that
food), why am I evil spoken of for that which I give thanks
(I should not be evil spoken of, as someone doing something
evil or sinful, but with their conscience defiled, upset,
weakened, offended, by the fact I may eat this food offered
to idols, they, the offended person, may well believe I'm
doing evil and tell others I've done evil, so to prevent
that from happening, I will not eat that food, because of
the other's conscience, not because of mine).
Whether therefore you eat or drink, or WHATSOEVER you DO, do
all to the glory of God (we cannot just live in our own
little world, doing only what pleases us all the time,
without considering the feelings, thoughts, emotions,
scruples, religious theology, conscience, of others that we
come in contact with in our daily living and even social
times and events).
Give NONE OFFENCE, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles,
nor to the Church of God. Even as I please all, in all, not
seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may
be saved (it is not only towards our fellow Christian
brother and sister we need to be considerate at all times,
but also towards all peoples of all nations, that in so
doing we may one day win them to Christ and see them also
saved)" (verses 25-33).
When living in this world, as working and socializing in
this world, we shall over our life time come into contact with
many people from many different backgrounds, cultures,
upbringing, philosophies, religious convictions, customs of
practices and beliefs. We need to be very tactful at times in
what we say and do when associating with these people. We need to
take into consideration what at that present time "makes them
tick" as we say, and we may have to "back down" in what words
come from our mouth and what actions we do while in their
presence, so we do not offend their conscience or scruples.
There are many things that may be correct for us to do and be
within the law of God, but not all of those things NEED to be
done, we also have the liberty within God's law to REFRAIN from
doing them, if it means that by refraining we will NOT offend the
conscience of someone. That is Christian LOVE towards our fellow
man, that is also our Christian liberty and so we should make
sure we know when to practice it.
NOT BEING OFFENDED!
We can through the help of the Spirit of God most of the
time come to master and control our words and actions that come
from us towards others. It is not possible to so control the
words and actions that may come from others towards US, hence
others can with the tongue and with deeds, do and say things that
COULD offend us IF we let those words or action offend us. They
do not HAVE to offend us, that aspect of how to will mentally and
emotionally respond to others whose words or actions are not the
kindest, or as we might perceive them as not being kind, that
reaction of ours is within OUR control. For us to act in those
situations with a cutting reply, with sarcasm, with hostility,
with anger, with bitterness, or with none of that but a shrug of
the shoulders, letting the water run off us as water running off
a ducks back, letting it just glide on by and pass over our head,
well that kind of a response from us IS within our power to
manifest.
We have a wonderful example in the NT that illustrates the
correct and right response to a situation that many would have
become VERY OFFENDED with and at. We shall look at this example
through the words written about it by Richard Nickels in his
short paper on this subject called, "Do You Have a Right to be
Offended?"
Quote
"In Matthew 15:21-28, we find a Gentile woman of Canaan who
approached Christ, begging Him to heal her daughter who was
grievously vexed with a demon. At first, He refused to answer
her! The disciples had no compassion for her, and asked Jesus to
send this bothersome person away. Finally, Jesus said (my
paraphrase - R. Nickels), 'I am sent only to the lost sheep of
the House of Israel.' But the Canaanite woman refused to give up.
She worshipped Him the more, saying, 'Lord, help mel' Jesus then
said, 'it is not fitting to take the children's bread, and cast
it to dogs.' Jesus called this Gentile woman a 'dog'! If you
tried this today, you would probably get your face slapped, or
worse! Call a woman today a female dog, and you better run for
cover. If the Canaanite woman would have been offended and walked
off in a huff, she would have had a dear right to do so, in our
eyes. However, in this case, her daughter would not have been
healed.
She ignored the put down, humbled herself and said, 'Truth,
Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the master's
table.' There was one purpose in her mind: her daughter needed to
be released from demonic possession. It seemed that NOTHING
could offend this woman. Nothing at all. Then the Lord responded
with His characteristic compassion and understanding. He did not
offend her, knowing that with her character, she would not likely
be offended. He was pleased with her attitude. 'O woman,' He
said, 'great is your faith: be it unto you even as you will.' Her
daughter was immediately made whole. We should be like the
Canaanite woman. We should NOT be offended, at anything.
However, just before this incident, Jesus also offended the
Pharisees, Matthew 15:1-20. In verse 12, we see that the
disciples were concerned about Jesus offending these 'high and
mighty' important persons. But the Savior was not out to' win
friends and influence people.' He called the Pharisees
hypocrites, transgressors of the Commandments of God, and blind
leaders of the blind. Unlike the Canaanite woman who had great
faith, the Pharisees WERE offended.
The Canaanite woman seemed to have the right to be offended
at indignities done to her, but she wasn't. The Pharisees had no
right to be offended because they were wrong in leading others
away from the paths of God. Yet they were offended.
Therefore, WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE OFFENDED! It is the person
who is not offended, who usually has the compassion and
understanding not to offend others. David and the prophets knew
this. David wrote: 'Great peace have they which love thy law: and
NOTHING shall offend them' Psalm 119:165......."
End of quote.
This is a very important subject we have looked at. A true
Christian must learn how not to offend others, and they need also
to learn how not be offended by others. This is not a light
matter, I need to give emphasis to that, this is not a matter to
be taken lightly, for as Jesus said, those who do not learn the
truth of this, and who continue to practice and live a life style
that is constantly offending others in word and deed, will find
themselves being gathered by the angels and CAST OUT of the
Kingdom. The doctrine of REPENTANCE means we are to repent of
sin, and a part of all that is to acknowledge that there is a
side of offending others that is sinful, whereby in doing that
sin we shall destroy the work of God in wanting to bring "little
ones" into His family, so they can be nurtured and nourished on
the milk of the word, then the meat of the word, so to mature and
grow in grace and knowledge of Christ Jesus, and finally be born
into glory as the immortal and everliving sons and daughters of
the Father.
I hope this study has guided you into the plain truth on
this subject and that you will go forward into the Kingdom of God
by not offending anyone or being offended.
................
Written May 2000
All articles and studies by Keith Hunt may be copied, published,
e-mailed, and distributed as led by the Spirit. Mr. Hunt trusts
nothing will be changed (except for spelling and punctuation
errors) without his consent.
6. Being a Peacemaker!
It's vital to practice it
BLESSED ARE THE
PEACEMAKERS.......
by
Keith Hunt
Do you want to be a literal child of God? You do - then you
will have to be a person of PEACE, for it is written, "Blessed
are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God
(Mat.5:9).
The greatest peacemaker in the universe is the heavenly
Father, but mankind, as a whole, is not at peace with the Father,
because of sin. Sin (the breaking of the law of God - I John 3:4)
cuts us off from being at peace with the Father. Notice Isaiah
59:1,2. "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot
save; neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your
iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins
have hid His eyes from you, that He will not hear."
Yet the Father wants a reconciliation - a peace - between
Himself and mankind whom He created. So He cries out to those who
could be His children, "Seek you the Lord while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked FORSAKE HIS WAY,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him RETURN unto the
Lord, and He will have MERCY upon him; and to our God, for He
will abundantly PARDON " (Isa.55:6,7).
God wants peace!
He is the greatest peacemaker in all the universe. He wants
- He DESIRES, that every last person who has ever lived or will
ever live, should repent and not perish. For it is written, "The
Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering towards us, not willing(not
wanting) that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to
repentance" (2 Pet.3:9, emphasis mine).
Repentance is vitally important for each of us if we are not
to perish - if we are to make peace with God.
Jesus said, ".......except you repent, you shall all
likewise perish." (Luke 13:3). Paul was inspired to write, "And
the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commands all
men every where to REPENT " (Acts 17:30). We have literature on
the subject of repentance - what it really is. Study it on this
website.
The wages of sin is death - Romans 6:23. The heavenly Father
could not just turn a "blind eye" to our sins. He could not just
ignore them as if we had never transgressed His holy, just, and
good law and commandments (Rom.7:12). Our sins had to be paid in
full to make peace with Him, but instead of each one of us having
to die He made a way by which we could be made at peace with Him.
He sent His Son to overcome sin in the flesh, to take our sins
upon Himself, and to die in our place. Notice it in Romans
3:23-25, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God. Being JUSTIFIED (forgiven of sin - declared sinless) freely
by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom
God has sent forth to be a PROPITIATION (atoning sacrifice)
through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the
remission of sins(forgiveness of) that are past, through the
forbearance of God."
God the Father is the great peacemaker. He has made a way
whereby all mankind can have peace with Him. That way is through
Christ Jesus. Paul instructed the church at Ephesus, "But now in
Christ Jesus you who sometimes far off are made nigh by the blood
of Christ. For He is our(Jew and Gentile) peace, who has made
both one ... so making peace. And that He might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross ... And came and preached peace
to you(Gentiles) which were far off, and to them (Jews) that were
nigh. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the
Father " (Eph.2:13-18).
The way of peace with the Father is through Jesus Christ.
The Father is the greatest peacemaker in the universe. He has
gone out of His way to make peace with the humans He created. If
we are willing to repent of our sins, if we are willing to
separate ourselves from unrighteousness and follow
righteousness(see Ps.119:172 for a definition as to
righteousness), if we are willing to separate ourselves from the
world of Satan and walk in the light and truth of God's word,
then the Father says, "...you shall be my sons and daughters..."
(2 Cor.6:14-18). We can then be the children of God!
BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS
How would you like to be remembered? What kind of reputation
do you desire? What kind of image do you want? What words would
you like to be carved on your tombstone - maybe the words: "Here
lays a child of God" ?
If you earnestly desire to be the son or daughter of God,
you will have to be a peacemaker. For it is written, "Blessed are
the PEACEMAKERS, for they shall be called the CHILDREN of God."
How do we build a reputation as "the children of God"? The
seventh Beatitude of Christ as they are called, tells us one way
- being peacemakers.
We are all called to be peacemakers in one way or another.
We are probably going to get at least one chance in this life
time to be a peacemaker, and most of us will no doubt get many
opportunities to peacemake.
Being a peacemaker can be extremely rewarding. Helping bring
peace where there is conflict, tension, and strife, brings about
a healthy sense of satisfaction.
Peacemaking can also be a tough role to play. And yet it is
absolutely crucial if you are to be a child of God.
Senator Hubert Humphrey put it this way: "Negotiating
between conflicting parties is like crossing a river by walking
on slippery rocks It's risky, but it's the only way to get
across."
We see "breaches" all around us. In families. Between labor
and management. Between nations. Between political parties. And
between Christian brothers and sisters.
We have been called as Christians to be REPAIRERS of the
breach. Restorers of paths to dwell in. Where a relationship has
been ripped, torn apart, we are called to bring about
reconciliation and peace. Where there's a rupture, create a
rapture. Where there is a scar, create a star - healing where
there was only hurt.
Paul instructed, "If it be possible, as much as lies with
you, live peaceably with ALL men" (Rom.12:18 - emphasis mine).
Peacemakers. Who are they? Are they only politicians or
world leaders? Ah, not at all! They are people like you and me.
Everyone can be a peacemaker. The mother who resolves the
conflict between her toddlers is a peacemaker. The student who
helps settle disputes between her class mates is a peacemaker.
The man or woman who helps in resolving family arguments, is a
peacemaker. Those who help restore a spiritual brother or sister
from being overcome by sin, is a peacemaker(Gal.6:1).
Every one of us can be a peacemaker - no matter who we are
or what we do. There are great blessing here and now, and in the
future, for being a peacemaker. You want to see good days in this
physical life, then do as Peter instructed: "For he that will
love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from
evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him eschew evil,
and do good; let him SEEK PEACE and ensue it" (1 Pet.3:10,11).
Notice this important verse found in Hebrews 12:14, "Follow peace
with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the
Lord."
Now it follows that if we can not see God without following
peace and holiness, then by following holiness and peace we shall
see God! It is just that important. To be a child of God you must
FOLLOW PEACE. Those that do shall one day live for eternity and
be called the children of God.
PEACEMAKERS
Abraham was very rich in cattle, silver, and in gold. He and
his household together with Lot his nephew and all that he
possessed, went up out of Egypt to the area of Bethel. So large
were their combined flocks and herds, the land "was not able to
bear them" (Gen.13:6). Verse 7 says, "And there was STRIFE
between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's
cattle...."
Did Abram, as the older man, get all steamed up with
indignation and demand his rights? Look at it - verses 8 and 9.
What an example of peacemaking we have recorded for us. "And
Abram said unto Lot, Let there be NO STRIFE ... between me and
you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we be
brethren. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself
...from me. If you will take the left hand, then I will go to the
right; or if you depart to the right hand, then I will go to the
left."
Among other things, Abram was a peacemaker. It is no wonder
then that he is called the father of the faithful and a friend of
God.
We too can not only be a friend of God but a child of God,
if we are peacemakers.
The Bible contains many examples of people who were
peacemakers. There is Moses and his peacemaking efforts as found
in Exodus 2:13 and chapter 32, where he acts as a peacemaker
between God and the people of Israel. There is the example of
Abimelech in Genesis 26. We have the example of Mordecai as a man
of peace - Esther 10. And there is David - a man after God's own
heart - who tried numerous times to make peace with King Saul who
was often out to "nail his hide to the wall." David returned good
and peace for the evil Saul wanted to do to him.
These are but some of the examples left us in the Bible
concerning people of peace.
Rolan Hayes was one of three children born to a Black family
on a fifteen-acre cotton farm in Tennessee. At the age of five
Roland lost his father to an accident. His mother moved the
family soon after the death of her husband, to Chattanooga. While
in that town they sang in a church choir. And one day the choir
director played for them a recording of Caruso and of Melba, two
of the great singers of the day. Roland Hayes was so moved by the
music that he said, "I believe that God has called me to sing a
message of peace and brotherhood around the world."
With determination and effort over many years he did indeed
become an international solo concert singer.
In 1924 he was booked for a concert at the Beethoven Concert
Hall in Berlin. En route to Germany, Roland stopped in Prague. He
was called into the American consul's office. "Mr. Hayes," the
consul said, "I have bad news for you. You are going to have to
cancel your concert in Germany. The French have taken over the
Rhineland and they are holding it with troops made up of Negroes
from America. The Germans are furious. No black-skinned person
will be able to sing in Germany at this time."
"Thank you for telling me this, Mr.Consul," Roland said, "I
will surely pray about it." The days passed and he could not
bring himself to cancel the concert.
On the night of the concert, Roland and his black
accompanist carefully made their way to the auditorium and
slipped in through a back door. Once inside, they peered through
the curtains and saw that the place was packed to overflowing.
Now Roland realized he was an internationally controversial case.
When the curtain went up, Roland Hayes stood in the curve of the
baby brand piano. He folded his hands, looked upward, and said a
private prayer to God: "God, make me a horn for the Omnipotent to
sound through."
As he stood silently praying, he began to hear hissing, then
stomping, and then catcalls and boos. Somebody shouted, "Don't
disgrace the Beethoven Concert Hall with plantation songs about
black men from America." Hate seemed to fill that auditorium. His
accompanist said, "Mr.Hayes, we better get out of here!" Then
objects began to fly onto the stage, narrowly missing the
soloist. Roland Hayes later recalled the incident and remarked,
"I just stood there and prayed, 'God, what will I do?'" An idea
entered his mind. To the accompanist he said, "Let's begin with
Beethoven's 'This Is My Peace.' " The accompanist slowly and
softly began to play. A surprised murmur ran through the hall as
the German concertgoers heard the music of their favorite,
Beethoven.
Roland Hayes opened his mouth and began to sing "This Is My
Peace." His mighty voice rolled through the auditorium, and the
audience fell into silence. By the time he finished, there was
absolute attention. He went on to sing several classical numbers
and ended the concert with Negro spirituals and plantation songs.
At the close of the concert, some members of the audience jumped
up on the stage, hoisted Roland on their shoulders, and paraded
him around the auditorium. He was the hero of the continent, and
he was an inspiration in settling the dispute between France and
Germany.
It's not always easy to be a peacemaker, but there can be
great rewards here and now, in trying. And the best of all is
that you can be called the CHILD of God.
Another great Black leader that advocated the peaceful means
to procure change, was the Baptist minister of the 1960's -
Martin Luther King, Jr. At a young age, and while studying for
the ministry, Martin attended a lecture about the tremendous
social change that had occurred in India as a result of the
efforts of a lawyer named GANDHI. Though born in India, Gandhi
spent much of his early life in South Africa. He returned to
India at the age of 46. He quickly saw that India was nothing
more than a British colony and that it was slowly dying under
such bondage. He advocated a nonviolent - peaceful protest
against the British for India's independence. It was most
important to be nonviolent Gandhi taught. Sometimes protesters
forgot this and turned to violence and bloodshed. When they did,
Gandhi would fast, refusing to eat until the violence ended.
It took years, seventeen long years, but through the combined
efforts of people like Gandhi, the unity of the Indian people,
and adverse world opinion, the British granted India its
independence in 1947.
Martin Luther King left the lecture so excited he went out
and bought all the books he could about Gandhi and his philosophy
of nonviolence. Martin recognized the differences between his
country and Gandhi's. In the United States, blacks were only
about ten per cent of the population. Still, he could not get rid
of the feeling that somehow Gandhi's philosophy could be applies
to the plight of the blacks in the USA. Martin was living for the
most part in the South, where there was still WHITES ONLY signs
on Coke machines or water fountains or over doorways. Where
blacks had to ride at the back on public buses. On trains in the
South, blacks had to sit in the rear of the dining car, and a
shade was pulled down to separate them from the rest, as if the
sight of blacks in a car would offend the white diners.
This was the world the blacks lived in, in the South. Martin
was determined to do something about it - but only through
peaceful means.
During the 50's and on into the 60's Martin Luther King
became the most prominent voice for the Civil Rights Movement.
His philosophy and teaching throughout all those years up to his
assassination and death on April the 4th, 1968, was a nonviolent
PEACEFUL approach to "equal rights" for blacks.
Yes, the "Civil Rights Movement" was from time to time
during those years, to be infiltrated by those who recommended
violence as the solution to the black problem of the South, and
indeed, violence did flare up at times, blacks being the
instigators, but Martin Luther King would have no part of it. He
stood only for a peaceful solution - peaceful marches and public
demonstrations.
It was on Monday January 30, 1956, that Martin's house was
bombed for the first time. He was not at home that evening.
When he did arrive home, summoned by a brief and frightening
telephone call, he found his house filled with people and the
street outside jammed with onlookers. The crowd of blacks was
angry; police stood by, expecting at any moment to have to quell
a riot. The Mayor and Commissioner of Montgomery were there to
grab Martin on his arrival and to express their sympathy. The
crowd was not mollified. Rage filled the air.
Having seen for himself that Coretta and Yoki(his wife and
daughter) were all right, Martin turned to the most immediate
problem. The crowd might loose control at any moment and burst
into violence. He made his way to the front porch and held up his
arms. He spoke to the crowd. He assured them his wife and baby
were fine. He was all right. They must not let their anger hurt
the nonviolent cause for which they were working. He quoted
Jesus. He spoke of love. Gradually the crowd quieted. Then,
Martin Luther King, Jr. channelled the high emotion of the crowd
from negative to positive and made his first public utterance
about the possibility of his own death: "Remember, if I am
stopped, this movement will not stop because God is with this
movement. Go home with this glowing faith and radiant assurance."
Shouting "Amen!" amid tears, the crowd dispersed.
As the leader of the successful Montgomery bus boycott,
Martin Luther King Jr., was in great demand as a speaker. Many
young whites were receptive to his pleas for black equality.
Inspired by King and the nonviolent peaceful civil rights
movement, young black students started their own nonviolent
protests. Tired of segregation they wanted to do something about
it. So began the "sit in lunch counter" campaigns across the
South. These "sit-ins" adhered completely to nonviolent
principles. This is the list of rules governing behavior at
sit-ins drawn up by Nashville, Tennessee, college students in the
spring of 1960:
Don't strike back if cursed or abused. Don't laugh out. Don't
hold conversations with your fellow workers. Don't leave your
seats until your leader has given you instructions to do so.
Don't block entrances to the stores and aisles. Show yourself
courteous and friendly at all times. Sit straight and always face
the counter. Report all serious incidents to your leader. Refer
all information to your leader in a polite manner. Remember love
and nonviolence. May God bless each of you.
There was much sorrow and pain yet to endure for those who
stood for de-segregation and equality through peaceful means. But
their efforts were not in vain. During those years of the 60's,
mountains were moved, the wall of bigotry was broken down,
segregation was smashed, blacks did get to use the same water
fountain as whites, sit on any seat they wanted to on the buses,
and be treated as an equal part of the human creation of God
Almighty.
All this was accomplished by the use of PEACE!
The world finally honored the peaceful efforts and teaching
of Martin Luther King Jr. They presented him with the NOBEL PRIZE
FOR PEACE in 1964.
Shortly before he died, King gave a sermon in which he
related how he would like people to remember him: "...I'd like
someone to mention that day of my funeral, that Martin Luther
King Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I'd like someone
to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr., tried to love
somebody."
Ah yes, the fruit of the Spirit is ..love, joy,
PEACE........
Those that are peacemakers will be called the children of
God.
THE CHILD OF GOD
Do you want to be a child of God? Do you want to be a son or
daughter of the greatest peacemaker in the universe? If you do
then you will have to practice peacemaking. And it may not be
easy, for the NATURAL way of man is to dislike, distrust, impute
evil motives, slander, and hate, those we think have "done us
dirt" in one way or another.
It is human nature to fight against and even go to war, with
those whom we perceive to be our enemies. They may not really be
our enemy, but we think they are, or they may very well have
"done us evil." Which ever the case is, the natural way to go -
the way of least resistance - is to hate and war, and not to try
and peacemake. It is not a proclivity for most of us, to say,
"Please forgive me if I have done or said something to offend
you. I would like us to be friends." Or, "I ask your forgiveness
for the wrong I have done to you."
It is not easy for human nature to say, "I realize their is
a wall between us. I would like for us to talk, get things out in
the open, lay the cards on the table, and say sorry where the
word sorry is needed to be said. I would like us to forgive where
forgiveness is due, and be at peace with each other."
No, it is not easy to PRACTICE the above words. But we must
try to do so as Christians if we want to be called a child of
God.
With the power of the Holy Spirit in us we can be
peacemakers!
Now brethren, it is commonly noised abroad that there is in
many of the churches, dissent, bickering, strife, antagonisms,
jealousy, suspiciousness, back-biting, and other "works of the
flesh" that are anything but peace and love.
This should not be!
The fruits of the Spirit, are among other things, "....love,
joy, PEACE ....... (Gal.5:22). Where there is little evidence of
these fruits in a church's life, there can only be a lack of the
Spirit of God among the church's membership.
The spiritual "thermometer reading" of any group will be
determined by the amount of heated love, joy, and peace, the
group produces. If there is little love and peace, there will be
a VACUUM, and the vacuum will need to be filled. It will usually
be filled with anger and strife, the works of the flesh
(Gal.5:19-21).
Notice what God is NOT the author of, as well as what He IS
the author of. "For God is NOT the author of confusion (tumult -
mrg. reading) BUT of peace...." (1 Cor.14:33).
Yes, God is the greatest peacemaker in the universe - He
wrote the book on it. He is the author of peace. And those who
will seek to be peacemakers will be called the children of God.
Are you "at odds" with someone? Is there strife between you
and another, or resentment, or anger, or maybe bad feelings over
something? Then you need to do what YOU can do, to bring about
peace. Do not wait for the other guy to make the first move
towards peace - he may never do so, or as you are waiting for
him, he is waiting for you.
Paul instructs, "If it be possible(some carnal minded
individual may never want to be at peace with you), as much as
lies in you(you at least should smoke the peace pipe) LIVE
PEACEABLY with all men" (Rom.12:18 added comments and emphasis
mine).
I was having my car professionally washed and waxed one day,
and while waiting in the lounge they provided for their
customers, I came across a card in a rack of BLUE MOUNTAIN ARTS.
The poem on it by Paula Finn was entitled: "I THINK WE NEED TO
TALK." Here are the words:
"Lately things haven't been quite right between us.....
We've allowed some negative feelings to build up, and those
unexpressed feelings have kept us from being as close as we
could be.
We need to trust our love enough to share the truth....., to
express criticism as well as praise, to be honest about our
disappointments as well as our hopes, to communicate our
hurts and frustrations, rather than keeping them inside.
We have to find ways to put into words what we need from
each other, so the other person....can find ways to give it.
And we need to be realistic in our expectations, and
remember that no one person can ever meet them all.
We have to talk more freely about our own feelings and
listen more sensitively to each other's, to realize that
feelings are neither right nor wrong, bur they are all
important, and that our differences can really be strengths
if we bring them out into the open and work together to
solve them.
It will take effort and courage on both our parts, but we
need to realize that keeping anger inside will only make it
stronger and will cause us to hurt each other even more.
We have to talk.
I'm not quite sure how to begin....... but I know we must."
Yes, communicating through word or letter, to those we are
having problems with is the key. Jesus taught:
"...if you bring your gift to the altar, and there you remember
that your brother has something against you. Leave your gift
before the altar; first be reconciled to your brother, and then
come and offer your gift... Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that
despitefully use you and persecute you. That you may be the
children of your Father which is in heaven, for He makes the sun
to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just
and the unjust. For if you love them that love you, what reward
do you have? Do not even sinners do the same? And if you honor
you brethren only, what do you more than others? Do not even the
criminals of society do the same among themselves? Become you
therefore spiritually mature even as your Father which is in
heaven, is spiritually mature" (Mat.523,24,44-48 paraphrased
myself).
Then also notice Jesus' words in Matthew 18:15, "...if your
brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault
between you and him alone; if he shall hear you, you have gained
your brother."
For those who claim they love Christ, who claim they are
followers of Jesus, they must obey this teaching of being
peacemakers, for Jesus said, "If a man love me, he will keep my
words..." (John 14:23).
That's it, there's no way around it - Christians must put
forth the effort to be peacemakers! The child of God is to seek
peace and pursue it (1 Pet.3:11). There is joy to the counsellors
of peace (Prov.12:20). Proverbs 20 and verse 3 says, "...It is an
honor for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be
meddling." The words of Zechariah admonish us to love the TRUTH
and PEACE " (Zech.8:19). Jesus taught us to "....have peace one
with another...." (Mark 9:50). Unity of the Spirit is bonded
together by PEACE (Eph.4:3).
Peace is an integral part of true wisdom and righteousness;
"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then
PEACEABLE... The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them
that make peace" (James 3:17,18). We are to do the things that
will produce peace (Rom.14:19).
HOW TO BE A PEACEMAKER
Who are the peacemakers? They are not necessarily the people
who me talking about peace all the time. Peacemakers are those
who are doing something, creating something, building something -
bridges, mostly!
You would like peace in your family, in your community, in
your place of work, in your church. There will be no peace
anywhere as long as there is war going on in YOUR heart and in
your life.
To be a peacemaker you must first be at peace with God and
yourself. You can be a peacemaker once you have your life
together, once you've let the heavenly Father and Christ Jesus
become your friends. When you have made your peace with them by
repenting of sin in your life and accepting Jesus as your Savior,
once you have made peace to God through Christ, once you are at
peace in your own heart and mind, when all your anger,
bitterness, hate, resentments, jealousy, and animosities, have
been washed away from your heart by the blood of Christ, then you
are ready to make peace with others - with those whom you need to
make peace with.
So you are at peace with the two main persons of the
universe, now what should you do next? I think the next move is
for you to PRAY!
Pray for humility and wisdom. Pray that you will be able, in
word and deed, to go about the job of making peace in the light
of God's word.
Once you have done the above, you are ready to ACT! It's no
use just wishing for peace but doing nothing. Just thinking about
peace will not automatically bring about peace. You must act. Be
determined that you are going to communicate, in verbal or
written word, with the person or persons you need to have peace
with. Then fulfil that communication.
It will take effort, it may not be easy, but most things in
life that are rewarding and lasting, do not come at the snap of
the fingers, but takes work and effort.
Yes, all of us can be peacemakers - wherever we are. There
may be a tension inside of you, in your home, or in your place of
business. But you can resolve this tension if you give it all
you've got. Tackling the problem of tension is no different than
tackling any other problem. You can make peace in much the same
way that you solve other problems. The people who ultimately win
at what they go after are people who give it all they've got.
This true story may help you win at peacemaking.
It happened on the slopes of Squaw Valley. The handicapped
skier was a girl by the name of Kim. She was about eighteen and
blind. Kim was being led down the giant slalom. She made it
through forty-four gates, and she was lined up straight with the
finishing line. Her guide behind her said, "Straight ahead Kim;
go for it!"
Kim dug in and was flying over the snow when she hit a rut.
The poles flew out of her hands. She fell flat on her face. She
knew she'd have to get her body across the finish line or be
disqualified. She looked beaten, looked like she was out of it,
but she didn't stop. She reached out for her poles. When she
couldn't find them, she started swimming over the snow, straight
ahead, until she crossed the finish line.
"Kim, you made it!" the judge called out. But she didn't
hear him. She just kept on snow swimming on her stomach for
another five, ten, fifteen feet.
The judge kept shouting, "You made it, Kim; you can stop!"
She still did not hear him. Finally a second voice, then another,
then all of the spectators shouted, "You made it, Kim!"
Kim stopped, still flat on her belly. Then she heard the
applause. She jumped up to her feet and danced for joy.
You can do it, too! You can be a peacemaker - you can be
called a child of God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the
children of God."
.............
Written in 1991
7. Lessons from Saul, king of Israel #1
He started Correctly!
LESSONS FROM SAUL
FIRST KING OF ANCIENT ISRAEL
The New Testament teaches us that one reason we have the Old
Testament is that the Eternal God wants us to be instructed,
edified, and taught the way of righteousness from its pages of
history and stories. We can learn many things from the life of
Israel's first king - Saul. In this article we shall study part
of Saul's life and glean from it truths for our salvation.
by
Keith Hunt
Samuel governed Israel in righteousness, but his sons did
not follow his example. They were corrupt and perverted justice
(1 Sam.8:1-3). When Samuel was old the elders of Israel came to
him and asked that they be given a king as other nations. Samuel
went to talk to the Lord about the matter, and the reply to him
was that the people should have their desire and wish for a king,
but they should be WARNED what exactly it would mean to them, in
what literal ways of life it would effect them and the nation
(verses 4-9).
Samuel reiterated and expounded to Israel the consequences
of wanting to be like other nations around them. Desiring to have
some of the world's ways, which may seem good and right in some
human respects, will in the long run, only prove to be certain
bondage, producing sorrow and pain (verses 10-18).
This reminds us clearly of the truth of the Proverb that
states: "There is a way that SEEMS RIGHT unto men, but the end
thereof is the way of death" (Prov.14:12). Israel did not want to
continue to have an INVISIBLE God rule them DIRECTLY through His
ministers like Samuel, but they wanted to put their TRUST in a
man, someone they could see, someone they could idolize for his
physical size, good looks, eloquent voice, personal talents, or
whatever it may be that make people put a human person on a
PEDESTAL between themselves and the true God. Israel was here
putting to one side their personal national relationship with
God, they refused to listen to Samuel (verses 19-21).
There is much to learn from this lesson of ancient Israel as
it led to the enthroning of Saul as their king.
Over and over again the NT instructs us not to be ensnared
by the ways of the world that reject the Eternal God. Such ways
may even seem, on the surface, to be a better way that what the
Christian is situated in at some given point in time.
An example would be:
A Christian lady has been raped and she finds herself
pregnant. The world's way(for the majority it would seem) is to
DEMAND or preach - ABORTION! The circumstances of the act of rape
was evil. The situation of Israel having two sons of Samuel as
perverted judges, ruling them, was also evil. But one evil act or
situation does not mean we ignore God and perform another act of
evil, or put ourselves into a different situation that rejects
God only to do what the unconverted world would do.
I could write pages on the subject of what the NT teaches
about the fact that a Christian must come OUT OF THIS WORLD, with
its vanity, jealousy, lust, and greed. With its strife,
hostility, idolatry, hated, and bigotry.
Jesus prayed to the Father that though His followers would
not be taken out of the world in a literal way, they would NOT BE
OF the world, in its unrighteous, and unconverted ways of THOUGHT
AND ACTIONS.
We are not to reject God and His PERFECT WAY for the whims
and fancies (that may even seem to contain some honorability to
them, such as having a king of the world around us to reign over
us).
Paul was inspired to tell Christians, "Let THIS MIND be IN
you which was in Christ Jesus" (Phil.2:5). The scriptures say we
are not to be unwise but to UNDERSTAND the will of God
(Eph.5:17). We are not to be CONFORMED to this world but
TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING of our minds (Rom.12:1-2).
Israel found themselves in an undesirable situation, but
instead of going to the Eternal to find His mind and way out of
the circumstance, they REJECTED God and looked to the way of the
world. They desired a king to follow and to lead them.
This is another common weakness of the human heart -
following and making idols of humans above God, or coming
INBETWEEN our personal relationship with God. The Christians at
Corinth were led into this net of deceptive captivity, from which
Paul had to try and rescue them with correction (1 Cor.1:10-13).
Now there is nothing wrong with admitting that the Lord uses men
in different FUNCTIONS and for different PURPOSES in His
ministry. There is nothing evil or unrighteous about
acknowledging the fact that God gives different natural TALENTS
and Spiritual GIFTS to different men in His service as Elders of
the church. There is nothing improper about APPRECIATING these
differences among the male overseers of the churches of God. But
when all these good and healthy differences are taken by people
to lead them into PARTY spirit and CONTENTIONS of carnality with
each other, then it BECOMES SIN!
From the context of Paul writing to the church at Corinth,
in his letter we call First Corinthians(which was not his first
letter to them as internal evidence shows), it is plain they were
sinning by their adulation of and following of, certain
ministers. They had put MEN or a MAN between themselves and God.
They had put aside their personal relationship with God, to
IDOLIZE and have a MAN lead them. They wanted a human king to
follow and trust in, just as ancient Israel did when God told
Samuel they had rejected, not really Samuel by wanting a king,
but Himself - the Eternal God.
It is indeed true that the Eternal has in the past, and
still does, call men to instruct, guide, and oversee His people
in different sheep folds around the world, we call the churches
of God. I have written a full book on that subject called "A
STUDY IN NT CHURCH GOVERNMENT" (now on this Website plus more).
This is good and as directed by the Lord. The problems arise
when we put our eyes and our faith in these men and off the true
Shepherd of the flock. When we start to give our mind over to a
human fallible man, when we think they are extra specially
inspired and INfallible, somehow guided to understand the will of
God in a way all others are not, able to interpret the WORD of
the Lord (the Bible) in such a way that it makes it unnecessary
for us to "prove all things" or to "search the scriptures daily,
whether these things are so" (Acts 17:11; 1 Thes.5:21). When we
allow men to come between our personal responsibility before God,
THEN we start on the slippery slope into false deception and mind
control. We are then headed towards becoming "dumb sheep" and
into the category of people that we often say are "brain washed."
There have been a number of world famous examples of members
of religious SECTS in the last 30 years (1967-1997, the present
year of this writing) to illustrate my point. I will use the
example of DAVID KORISH and the members of the BRANCH DAVIDIAN in
Waco, Texas. This religious sect (an offshoot from the Seventh
Day Adventist Church) had TRUTHS that many of us in the Seventh
Day observing Churches of God, would agree with. They taught
observance of the 7th day. They taught we should recognize the
New Month days. They observed the Festivals of Leviticus 23. They
knew the truth about the state of the dead, and what the Bible
teaches about hell and the destruction of the wicked. They
observed the food laws of the Bible. There was MUCH TRUTH within
their theology. Then came the leader David Korish.
He was no doubt very charismatic. He could speak for hours
and hold his audience entranced. I am told he had large parts of
the Bible memorized(maybe he had a photographic memory).
Certainly he knew the words contained in the books from Genesis
to Revelation. In the process of time Korish became the leader of
the Davidian sect. And through time and his charismatic
personality and preaching, more and more members of the sect
became convinced he was, quote, "special." A unique individual,
with a unique and special contact with God. Slowly but
progressively, the members in the sect's headquarters at Waco,
gave their minds over to his every whim, idea, and teaching. Most
of them (the adults) were in the end quite willing to die with
Korish in the now famous and infamous inferno that burned their
religious compound to the ground.
Here is just one example of how people can leave the plain
teachings of the Bible, and especially the NT, to follow a king
type of leader, instead of remaining with God and His sure word
of truth.
There were married couples within the Davidian sect at Waco.
They originally believed in what the NT clearly teaches - one man
and one woman in marriage. No wife swapping, no wife sharing with
another man, no adultery!
Then David Korish began to teach he could have ANY of the
women of childbearing age, married or not! He then added to that
dogma that the married couples, or the men, the husbands, could
not have sexual union with their wives. Only he could now perform
this act and function with their wives. They in effect, all
became his wives only. He did produce many children from many
women.
The brain washing had been so effective over a number of
years, that most went right along with his wishes, desires, and
teaching, believing he was "inspired" of God, even to the point
that his word was ABOVE the word of the Bible.
It must have been that they had given their minds over to
Korish, so deeply, that they could no longer recognize WHEN he
was teaching out and out HERESY, which was the diametric opposite
to the truth, teaching, and commandments of the Eternal God.
They had REJECTED the true KING (the Lord Almighty) to follow
their human king leader. They were saying in effect: "Give us a
human king that will lead us, so we can be like the nations
around us. Give us a human king to reign over us."
They had committed IDOLATRY!
Any form of idolatry is WRONG - it is SIN! It will only
eventually lead to mental DECEPTION, that in the context of
"idolatry with humans as king" will invariably and ultimately
result in PAIN, and SORROW during this physical life, in one way
or another.
Coming back to the time of Samuel and Israel requesting a
physical king that they could follow, and put their trust in.
Yes, the people of Israel were in an unpleasant, even an evil
situation, with two perverse men as judges over the nation. But
what they thought was the answer to their problem, was really, no
answer. They were rejecting God and what answer He could have
given them to remedy the circumstances. Two wrongs just do not
make one right as the saying goes.
Israel wanted to copy the nations around them. They wanted
to "do their own thing" - wanted to do it "my way," So God said,
"Okay Samuel, let them have their human king, but WARN them what
the consequences will be."
The choice Israel made was not the correct one, but the
Eternal ALLOWED them to make it.
This teaches us that God never FORCES us to obey Him. We are
ALWAYS free agents to serve and obey Him or not. It teaches us
that even the people of God may find themselves in life
situations that are unpleasant, even evil or perverse. We then
have the opportunity to seek God and ask for His way out of and
way through our troubles and pain, which may have come upon us
through no fault of our own (like Israel finding themselves with
two corrupt judges, or the Christian lady being raped and
becoming pregnant). God is there to help and guide us in times of
evil, IF we will seek Him and His answers.
This example shows that we are always free agents. God's
people are never ROBOTS to Him against their own will and
desires. We always have free choice, and we are to exercise
CHOICE at all times, under all situations. We are back to those
very important verses found in Deuteronomy 30:15-20. God sets
before us LIFE on the one hand and DEATH on the other hand, but
we are to CHOOSE. Yet within all that framework God PLEADS with
us to choose LIFE!
STILL ONE MORE TEACHING FROM THE ABOVE ACCOUNT
First Samuel chapter 8 gives us still one more very
important teaching. Even in our stupidity and wrong choices we
may make at times, God often (but not always) tells us in one way
or another, what the consequences will be for our wrong actions.
He is still being patient, kind, and gracious to us, even as we
are determined to go the wrong way. He often tries to rescue us
from our carnality and turn us to see the light of truth. So we
will walk in the more perfect way that is His mind, holiness, law
and commandments.
I have even known cases where after someone had gone against
the divine will of the Lord in a certain matter, He will be so
merciful towards them that He will turn the situation around to
be a blessing for them. That does not mean His will and
commandments are nil and void, it only means He is wonderful in
mercy and kindness to whom He so desires to show compassion upon.
Truly God does work in mysterious ways at times, His wonders to
perform.
SAUL IS CHOSEN AS KING
Within the historical time frame of Israel desiring a human
king to rule them, the man Saul comes on the scene. He was the
son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin. In outward
appearance Saul was TALL and HANDSOME. So tall was he that no
other person in Israel came above his shoulders in height
(1 Sam.9:1-2). He was probably a young John Wayne type of guy,
yet even taller. He was the envy of the fellows, and the heart
throb of the gals.
At this point, we need to clear up a popular misconception
many have held, and that is the idea that it was the people of
Israel, who in some way, chose Saul to be their king. Far too
many have thought that the people of Israel either VOTED in some
fashion, cast lots, or had their elders of the tribes, decide WHO
would be their king. The Scriptures clearly record it was the
Eternal God Himself who chose Saul to be the human king over the
nation of Israel. Please note such verses as 1 Sam.9:15-17,27;
10:1,23-24, 15:1, 10, 17, 34-35.
Yes, there seems to have been a public choosing of Saul
(chapters 10:17-21; 12:13), but the previous verses above teach
that Saul had ALREADY been chosen by God, already FORE-ORDAINED
by the Lord to be their king. It is clear that the Eternal took
full responsibility for Saul as Israel's human king.
Notice chapter 15:10, 35. The Lord REGRETTED (NKJV) that He
had set up Saul as king.
What! Didn't God KNOW what Saul wound turn out like? Was the
Eternal not able to PREVENT Saul from going astray? We shall see
later that Saul STARTED OUT with the right heart and mind, the
Lord even giving him much help to stay on the right track, but he
went astray, and now the Almighty was SORRY He had made Saul
king.
There are some great truths hidden here for us.
As God is ALL POWERFUL, as it is written, "there is nothing
impossible for God," we could argue that He could have prevented
Saul from going astray, but then Saul's ability to CHOOSE life or
death, his free agency, would have had to be taken away from him.
And as we have seen, God never forces anyone to do anything. He
always gives to us the freedom to JUSTIFY OURSELVES in our
wayward ways, or to be willing to be misled and deceived by
others, or by sin.
That's why we have so many verses in the NT that admonish us
to be VIGILANT, WATCHFUL, AS WISE AS SERPENTS, in a spiritual
sense, for Satan is as a roaring lion, going around seeking whom
he can devour (1 Peter 5:8). We are told to GROW in grace and
knowledge so we will not FALL from our salvation and be led away
with the errors of the wicked (2 Peter 3:17,18). We are
instructed to put on the WHOLE ARMOR of God, so we can withstand
the fiery darts of the wicked one (Eph.6:10-18).
Over and over the NT, nay the entire Bible, teaches us that
God never makes us into little robots. The Lord will never FORCE
us to do His will, or to obey His commandments, just as He did
not with Saul.
Then we may ask: Why was God "sorry" He had made Saul king?
As God is "all in all," as He is ALMIGHTY, as it is written He
knows everything, the end from the beginning, why does it seem
that the Lord is taken by surprise at the actions of Saul into
sin and rebellion, to the point He claims REGRET and SORROW for
choosing Saul as Israel's king?
Didn't the Eternal ALREADY know in advance that Saul would
rebel and go away from the straight and narrow pathway of
righteousness and obedience?
From these verses in chapter 15, it would seem to indicate
God does NOT know in advance, EVERYTHING an individual may do in
the course of their life, or if they will REMAIN faithful to Him
unto the end, once they start on the road of salvation.
To many this is a SHOCK to contemplate, they may even think
it is heresy to entertain such a thought as God NOT KNOWING
everything in advance. After all they may say: Is it not written,
"nothing is impossible with God" and "is there anything too hard
for the Lord?" also, "all things are possible with God." Yes,
such words are written concerning the power of the Eternal. But
this is not so much a question of WHAT can God do, for He can do
anything He wishes or turns His mind to do. It is a question of
WHAT has God WILLED Himself to do and to KNOW, under the
situation He has chosen to work WITHIN, at any given time or
within any given events.
The example found in Genesis 18 is missed by most readers of
the Bible. The Lord has come to earth with two angels. The three
of them meet and fellowship with Abraham, even enjoying a meal
with him (showing God is able to materialize Himself if He
chooses and partake of food - Jesus did this after His
resurrection among His disciples). God said He would NOT conceal
from Abraham the purpose as to WHY He was on a journey to visit
Sodom and Gomorrah (verse 16-19).
Now notice verses 20,21. Read them carefully. Do you see
what is written there? Can you see a truth God wants us to
understand about His workings?
The Lord had come to earth IN ORDER TO VERITY the truth of
the appalling report that had come to Him concerning the SIN of
the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Angels had brought the news of
gross sin to Him that was being practiced in those two cities. As
we would say (it was so horrific) "I cannot believe my ears" and
God did not WILL to bring up those two cities on some huge TV
screen in heaven to see their sins. Until the report reached Him,
He did not WILL Himself to even know this sin was as a full blown
CANCER in those cities.
And further more, He had WILLED Himself to only be able to
SEE and KNOW the reality of this sin BY PERSONALLY(bodily) going
to those cities on planet earth, and seeing it for HIMSELF.
God does WILL Himself to LIMIT Himself on certain things
pertaining to His working with mankind through His plan for them.
He has WILLED Himself NOT TO KNOW if a man or woman will REMAIN
faithful in love and obedience to Him, unto their dying day. That
is why Jesus said: "He that shall endure unto the end shall be
saved."
God chose Saul to be king. He started out on the right
footing and with a converted attitude (as we shall presently
prove), But Saul did not remain faithful and true to God and His
way of righteousness. When he did not, it grieved the Lord (as it
did with Samuel), it regretted the Lord, it was a sorrow to Him
that He had made Saul king.
Was it God's fault Saul did not remain faithful? Of course
not! God forbid, what a terrible thought! Saul was always a free
moral agent to do right or not to do right.
It is always a regret, a sorrow, to God, when someone He has
called and chosen to be a future king and priest in His family,
FALLS AWAY!
The sorrow and regret He exhibits shows to us the wonderful
greatness of His character. He is like us (do we not regret the
falling into sin of our children to their own hurt and that of
others?) and we like Him, for it is written God said: "Let us
make man in our IMAGE, after OUR LIKENESS."
SAUL - STARTED RIGHT - ENDED WRONG
When Samuel told Saul that his father's household was
greatly favored in Israel, notice Saul's humble reply: "Am I not
a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my
family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?
Why then do you speak like this to me?" (1 Sam.9:21 NKJV).
Certainly this attitude of Saul's shows the humility that
the Bible proclaims is the necessary attribute of mind to please
the Eternal God.
Later, Samuel tells Saul what would befall him after they parted
company.
..................
To be continued
8. Lessons from Saul, king of Israel #2
Sin and the deception of the Heart!
Continued from part one
SAUL - STARTED RIGHT - ENDED WRONG
When Samuel told Saul that his father's household was
greatly favored in Israel, notice Saul's humble reply: "Am I not
a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my
family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?
Why then do you speak like this to me?" (1 Sam.9:21 NKJV).
Certainly this attitude of Saul's shows the humility that the
Bible proclaims is the necessary attribute of mind to please the
Eternal God.
Later, Samuel tells Saul what would befall him after they parted
company (chapter 10:2). You will see a promise was given by
Samuel that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon Saul. The
exact words are very revealing.
"....Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will
prophecy with them (group of prophets, verse 5) and be TURNED
INTO ANOTHER MAN" (verse 6). There can be no mistake - Saul was
going to be CONVERTED by the Lord through the power of the Holy
Spirit. So much so was this going to be that all who formerly
were acquainted with Saul, believed he had become one of the
prophets of God (verses 10-13).
Verse nine gives us the truth that the Eternal gave Saul "another
heart."
Not only was he turned into another man in heart and mind by
the Spirit, but Saul was also given by God, valiant men as
companions, whose hearts had been touched by the Lord (verse 26).
Saul had everything going for him. He was tall and handsome. He
was favored by the people of Israel. He was put with the prophets
of Israel, and looked upon as one of them. He was, through the
Spirit, converted and changed in heart. And then to help him rule
Israel righteously, he was given strong male companions who also
had been touched by the hand of God.
Could anything have been better for Saul's salvation and
relationship with the Almighty? I cannot think how. Saul was
STARTING OFF on the right road, which would have led him to the
first resurrection and eternal life.
But, by the time we come to chapter 15, Saul was WAY OFF
track and heading for the DITCH along the side of the road that
leads only to the loss of salvation and destruction.
What should this TEACH US?
Why, the truth that is shouted to us many times over in the
Scriptures. There is NO doctrine of the Lord as "once saved
always saved." Such a teaching is man made, from the minds of
individuals who have not only perverted certain verses in the
Bible, but have also willfully rejected many verses in the Word
(such as those we are studying in this article) that plainly
prove you will be saved into the Kingdom of God ONLY if you
ENDURE (REMAIN FAITHFUL) to the END (see Matthew 24:12,13).
This is not the place to expose in detail the heresy of this
false teaching of "once saved always saved." The reader can study
my in-depth article called "Saved by Grace" for the plain truth
of the subject and doctrine of personal Salvation.
SAUL'S SINS - LESSONS FOR US
As we analyze the errors, mistakes, and sins that Saul
committed in just this one chapter (15) of 1 Samuel, many lessons
and a lot of pertinent instruction for us can be found, if we
will search for it. Some of this instruction is plain to see, on
the surface, a little more is a little deeper to uncover, needing
extra thought. But it is to our benefit to search the matter out.
Samuel gives VERY CLEAR and precise instruction to Saul as to
what the Lord was commanding him to do against the Amalekites,
and the city of Amalek (chapter 15:13). Samuel was quite precise
in naming to Saul WHO and WHAT in the city of Amalek was to be
destroyed. Saul went forth to do the Lord's will. And when Samuel
came to him he proclaimed, ".....I have performed the
commandments of the Lord' (verse 13). As we read the next verses
it becomes clear that Saul had done no such thing. The first
teaching for us is that Saul just up front, openly, and very
simply, DISOBEYED the command of God, while making out he had
obeyed.
How often, in OUR carnality, do we just simply NOT OBEY a
commandment of God? We do at times, through the weakness of the
flesh, through the wiles of the Devil, fall short, miss the mark,
and DISOBEY the Almighty. Hopefully, as a true Christian, we will
not do as Saul did. Hopefully when God's command is set before us
in all it's simplicity, we will ACKNOWLEDGE when we have not
observed it (1 John 1:8-10). Saul added more sin to his already
sin, by trying to deceive others (and possibly himself) that he
had obeyed God, that he had NOT sinned, done NO wrong.
This second sin, manifested the real attitude of Saul. True
humility and a genuine converted heart had dissipated from Saul.
Now it was a pretence of "I am obeying" when he knew very well he
was not obeying. His religion had become HYPOCRISY! His theology
had now become the proverbial "say one thing but do another."
This sin we all need to realize, will take us away from the
grace of God, and back out into the darkness of the carnal world.
It will lead us on into willful sin - the unpardonable sin - sin
from which we cannot repent! For let's notice what further sin
Saul entered upon as Samuel began to untangle the truth from the
error.
"But Samuel said, 'What then is this bleating of the sheep
in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?'" (verse
14).
Look at the answer Saul gave.
"THEY have brought them from the Amalekites; for THE PEOPLE
spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to SACRIFICE to the
Lord your God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed."
Immediately, Saul put the blame on OTHERS. It was "the devil
made me do" or someone else was responsible type of attitude, but
NOT himself, he was clean in his own eyes. The sin of
SELF-justification and SELF-righteousness was proclaimed loud and
strong by Saul. Coupled with that was the deceptive reasoning
that what in fact was DISobedience, was thought to be
righteousness. Saul argued that what they had done was FOR THE
LORD! Why, they were going to honor and worship God with the
animals they spared. They were going to sacrifice them to the
Eternal. And this amounted to yet another sin - worshipping God
according to our own whims and wishes, whatever way takes our
fancy at the time, regardless as to the way the Lord has told us
to serve and worship Him.
The word is full of "Christianity" that is according to the
ideas of men. Yes, it may SEEM good, people may THINK or SAY it
is good, but if those forms of worship are in opposition to the
direct laws, commandments, teaching, and will of God, then it is
the sin of REBELLION, INIQUITY, and IDOLATRY, as Samuel told Saul
in those famous words of his found in verses 22,23.
The Eternal God has NOT given mankind the freedom to figure
out for themselves HOW to worship God, in the way they choose,
from their own inventions of the mind. The Lord has given to
mankind only the freedom as to WHETHER they will worship Him or
not, according to the spirit and the truth of His word. God sets
the RULES! He lays down the right from the wrong, LIFE from
DEATH! He only gives us the freedom to CHOOSE either life on the
one hand, or death on the other hand. Of course I am speaking
about the large, over-all areas of worship towards God, there are
none essentials that the Eternal does give us complete freedom
in, such as eating meat or not eating meat (Romans 14).
Jesus said to the Father, "not my will be done but your
will." Saul said in effect that he would not do God's will, but
he would do his own will, while claiming it was God's will, while
believing he was worshipping the Almighty in spirit and in truth.
The Eternal made it very clear through Samuel that such
theological concepts would NOT be accepted and were gross sin!
Samuel CORRECTED Saul's thinking (verses 17-19). Told him he
had not obeyed and had done evil in the sight of the Lord (verse
19). What was the second response from Saul? Was it one of
complete humble repentance? Did he acknowledge his sin, and cry
out in true repentance?
Verse 20 relates how Saul ONCE MORE stood with bold faceness
before God and claimed he had obeyed and had "utterly destroyed
the Amalekites." Once again SOMEONE ELSE other than himself was
to blame, but even their actions were done to serve the Lord
(verse 21). He still could not see ANY SIN being committed even
as he acknowledged that what the people took should have been
destroyed.
Saul had been given the INSTRUCTIONS as to the Lord's will.
The responsibility of following those instructions lay squarely
at the feet of Saul. It could not be shifted onto the shoulders
of ANYONE else! His service towards God was his personal
responsibility.
Likewise for each of us today. Our responsibility to serve
God, to obey Him, to do His will, is personally OURS! The will of
God is revealed to us in His word. The NT admonishes us to KNOW
His will, to understand His way, to have the mind of Christ in
us, to study to show ourselves approved, to search the Scriptures
daily, to prove all things, to grow in grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.
We must never make the mistake of blaming someone else for
our sins, for our errors, for our deceptions, for our being led
astray into false theology, and into ways that may seem right to
man but end in death. We must be on guard never to do, or to
reason as Saul did here at this time in his life.
We must always DESIRE to know the way, the will, and the
commandments of the Eternal. We are, as a true Christian, always
PERSONALLY responsible before God for finding, knowing, and
staying with His truth and righteousness. We can never blame our
sins, our backsliding, or our falling away from the Lord, on ANY
human person other than ourselves. Our salvation is VERY
PERSONAL. We cannot enter the Kingdom of God on the shirt-tails
or back of another flesh and blood individual. And in like
manner, no person but ourselves, can take us from truth into
error, from obedience to dis-obedience of the perfect will of
God.
Samuel once more, with even STRONGER correction, denounced
the sin of Saul (verses 22,23).
Saul responded in a way that many mistakenly believe was
true repentance (verses 24,25). But Samuel knew the deceitful
depths of the sin of Saul's heart. Notice how he answered Saul:
"..I will not return with you, for you HAVE REJECTED THE WORD OF
THE LORD..." (VERSE 26).
The rest of the life of Saul, with its many UPS and DOWNS in
his personal character, shows clearly that indeed his heart was
never again within the righteousness and grace of God, that makes
for being a true child of the Eternal.
Saul, had what the apostle Paul later called "the repentance
of the world." He was in the state of mind that was merely
saying, "oh, poor old me, I feel sorry for myself." It was not
the repentance or sorrow that is the godly kind, not to be
regretted. But Saul had the sorrow of this world that produces
DEATH (2 Cor.7:8-11).
Saul was never again able to come to godly repentance
(Heb.6:4-6).
Did he commit the un-pardonable sin? Maybe! Only the
Almighty knows for sure. Certainly his attitude of heart effected
his entire physical life from that day forward to his death.
We need to take heed unto such an example as that of Saul, lest
when we have started out as did Saul, and when we have prophesied
(by our lips of confession to be a Christian) and preached (by
our conduct) to others, we should be a cast away (1 Cor.9:27).
Salvation is a GIFT. We are saved by GRACE through FAITH
(Eph.2:8). Yet, most professing Christians DO NOT understand the
doctrine of salvation by grace, as shocking as it may sound
(remember if you are in doubt about this subject to study my
article called "Saved by Grace").
Once we have received salvation as a gift, we have our part
to play in the process of being saved to INHERIT eternal life. We
are not "once saved always saved." We must ENDURE to the END!
Those who do shall be saved into the Kingdom of God, as Jesus
Himself taught.
Now we are HEIRS of the Kingdom (Romans 8), not YET
inheritors!
The Father in heaven has not left us in darkness as to HOW
to endure to the end, as to how to inherit eternal life. He
inspired Peter to tell us HOW to make our calling and election
SURE!
That WAY is found in 2 Peter 1:2-11. Read it carefully. Look
up the words used in verses 5-7, in a Greek/English dictionary
such as VINE'S NT WORDS. Study the section with the help of one
or more of the popular BIBLE COMMENTARIES such as "Barnes' Notes
on the New Testament," or the commentaries by Adam Clark, Matthew
Henry and others. Study this section of scripture with some of
the modem Bible translations, such as The Amplified Bible.
Truly, as Peter said, if you DO THESE THINGS as in verses
5-7, you shall NEVER FALL, but, ".....an entrance will be
supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (verse 11, NKJV).
................
Written August 1997
9. Saul - two GREAT sins!
A Warning to US!
THE SINS OF SAUL
by Robert B. MACDORMAND
Saul was the first anointed king of Israel. It was not very
long after he took the throne that he sinned against God and had
the promise of a dynasty removed from him. The army of Israel was
gathered to fight the Philistines and waited for Samuel to come
and make a sacrifice to the Lord. Then Saul committed his first
grave sin. "And he tarried seven days, according to the set time
that Samuel had appointed; but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the
people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring hither a
burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the
burnt offering." I Samuel 13:8-9.
After that, Samuel arrived and pronounced the Lord's
judgment on Saul. "And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done
foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy
God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord
have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now thy
kingdom shall not continue..." I Samuel 13:13,14.
What a tragic event this was. It would have been better for
Israel if Saul had not lost the throne through his sins. There
could have been two lines of kings: one over Israel and the other
over Judah, descended from Saul and David. God intended all along
to separate Israel and Judah. Moses knew that someday Judah would
be a separated nation. He prayed for them, saying, "Hear, Lord,
the voice of Judah, And bring him unto his people..." Deuteronomy
33:7. When Israel and Judah separated, God said "...this thing is
done of me", 2 Chronicles 11:4. Instead of a line of kings from
Saul, there was a chaotic line of kings. From Jeroboam (the man
who caused Israel to sin) to the captivity there was not one
righteous king. Even Jehu, the mighty hero, turned away from God.
Compare this to the kingdom of Judah that had several righteous
kings, all descended from David.
There was nothing wrong with Saul offering a sacrifice for
himself. Samson's parents offered a sacrifice for themselves and
it was accepted by God. (Judges 13:19) Saul's sin was in offering
a sacrifice for the nation. He was making himself both
king and high priest. This is a right only Jesus Christ can
claim. (Hebrews 3:1) In the Old Testament, only a descendant of
Levi could be high priest. Saul was from Benjamin.
Saul's second terrible sin was going to the witch of Endor
to enquire of an evil spirit instead of enquiring of God. This
witch brought up an evil spirit which was disguised as Samuel.
"And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and
the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? For
thou art Saul... And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he
stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself."(I Samuel
28:12,14). The evil spirit revealed to the woman that her visitor
was Saul. She thought Saul had tricked her and would put her to
death, for he had a reputation of killing spirit mediums. The
evil spirit was Samuel the deceiver, not Samuel the prophet of
God. The spirit rebuked Saul for not killing all of the
Amalekites, but said nothing about his consulting the witch.
However, consulting a spirit medium was an extremely serious
offense for which God said He would cut the guilty person off
from Israel (Leviticus 20:6).
In our day, people in a deliverance ministry (expelling evil
spirits) claim that an evil spirit can disguise itself as
someone else. It can appear as a deceased loved one, a saint, the
Virgin Mary, an angel of light or even as Jesus. Possibly none of
us will ever see such a manifestation, but if we did, we would
have to test its words with scripture. An angel that preaches a
message of universal love and the brotherhood of mankind without
giving glory to Jesus Christ is not of God, but is a deceiver.
Jesus tested Satan's words and resisted temptation by using
scripture (Matthew 4:7).
The true nature of the spirit that appeared to Saul is
revealed in another part of the Bible.
"So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against
the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not,
and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to
enquire of it; And enquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew
him, and turned the kingdom unto David, the son of Jesse."
I Chronicles 10:13,14.
I believe it was not God's intention to kill Saul, at that
time anyway, but because of this second great sin, Saul brought
swift judgment upon himself and his sons. The familiar spirit
knew this would happen.
These creatures understand how God's Law work. We may think
it unfair that judgment fell on Saul's sons, but that is just the
way it is. People suffer for the sins of their fathers. We all
suffer for Adam's sin. It is also true that people benefit from
their fathers' righteousness even when they do not deserve it.
The good things we have are the result of a Christian
heritage. We are also in God's favor because of the righteousness
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God's promises to them remain with
us, despite our unworthiness.
...................
From "Thy Kingdom Come" (January 2009) a publication of The
Association of the Covenant People, Burnaby, B.C. Canada.
10. Grumbling and Complaining
They can be deadly sins!
GRUMBLING AND COMPLAINING
"Now the people became like those who complain about adversity in
the hearing of the Lord, and when the Lord heard it, His anger
was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and
consumed some of the outskirts of the camp" (Numbers 11: 1-2).
Grumbling and complaining is one thing we don't get too
concerned about these days. I mean everybody grumbles about
something, right? Husbands and wives complain about each other.
Kids tell each other how terrible their folks are. Christians
grumble about one another - even about their leaders!
The nation of Israel had a long history of grumbling and
complaining. You can read about the misery it brought them in the
first five books of the Old Testament. I have to confess, for a
long time I didn't like those five books because I thought they
were full of The Law. God's wrath could be pretty terrible.
Sometimes He sent plagues or fire from heaven. In Numbers 16, you
read about the "rebellion of Korah" when the ground opened up and
250 people who complained against Moses and the Lord were
swallowed alive. That's heavy!
Now the New Testament - that seemed easy in comparison! We
were given a new law to keep. The law of love and liberty. As a
new Christian, I heard nothing but "love, grace, forgiveness, and
mercy" which was great because without them I'd be dead as a
doornail! Yet I kept running across scriptures in the New
Testament that really turned my head around. Jesus also made some
strong statements about obeying the laws of God.
In Matthew, Jesus rebuked the people of three cities where
He'd taught and performed many miracles. He wasn't exactly trying
to win a popularity contest when He said: "Woe to you... For if
the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in
you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes...
(And) if the miracles had occurred in Sodom that occurred in you,
it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless, I say to you
that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day
of judgment than for you" (Matthew 11:21-24). In other words, "If
I don't judge you in light of all you know, I'm going to have to
apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!"
I'm not pointing out these scriptures to say, "You'd better
listen or God's gonna get ya." That's not God's heart. He is
"slow to anger, full of lovingkindness and compassion" (Psalm
145:8). What I am saying is that those who live under the old
Covenant may have had a harsher requirement - but they'll have an
easier judgment than we who live under the New Covenant. Why is
that?
During the Old Covenant, the Spirit of God only came to rest
upon people, empowering them to do mighty deeds. But it never
lived in them to help them fulfil the law. Today, under the law
of love and liberty, the Holy Spirit lives in us, to help us keep
the law. James says, "be ye doers of the word and not hearers
only, deceiving your own selves ... But whoso looketh into the
perfect law of liberty and continueth therein ... this man shall
be blessed in his deed" (James 1:22,25 KJV).
I want to make this point strongly: Once God has led us out
of our old sinful lives by His Spirit, we must be careful not to
return.
I found an important warning sign while reading Old
Testament books like Numbers. This signal can tell you if you're
headed backwards where you're no longer led and controlled by the
Holy Spirit. No longer walking forward with God. It seems like a
little "insignificant" sin. In fact, some people don't think it's
a sin at all! I'm talking about grumbling and complaining.
Three Common Complaints
The reason I wanted to lay a solid foundation before looking
closer at the Israelite's complaining attitude is simple but
important. As I said, we think God isn't going to be as hard on
us as He was on them. "Hey, I'm under grace! God isn't keeping a
list of my sins. Especially not something like a little
complaining now and then!"
But the Israelite's wilderness journey exposes the attitudes
behind their complaints - some really serious sins! Let's look at
three complaints that will get us into big trouble. Be honest and
see if you find yourself in these accounts in Numbers.
#1 Complaints of the Flesh
Numbers 11 gives a concise picture of what God and Moses had
to put up with while trying to lead the people out of Egypt into
the Promised Land. "Now the people complained about their
hardships in the hearing of the Lord..." Not only did Moses have
to listen to their complaints, but the Lord heard all their
griping as well.
We often forget that the Lord hears everything we say. He
even knows everything we think! As David said: "Thou dost
understand my thought from afar... Even before there is a word on
my tongue, behold O Lord, Thou dost know it all" (Psalm 139:2,4).
You can't hide bad attitudes from God. It's better to get to
the root and deal with it. What was the root of their complaint?
The Israelites began craving food other than what the Lord was
providing. They wailed, "If only we had meat to eat? We
remember the fish we had in Egypt at no cost - also the
cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic." What breath they
must have had! We could call it Egypt Breath. "By now our
appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this
manna" (Numbers 11:46).
(Of course this was not true - the Israelites took with them from
Egypt their cattle etc. But their greed and complaint was they
did not have ENOUGH. Maybe the could only have meat once a week
or once a month for two or three days and they wanted it EVERY
DAY - Keith Hunt)
The root of their complaint was their flesh. They forgot
that they didn't deserve anything! God was giving them bread they
didn't even have to work for. It was free. All they had to do was
go and pick it up! But their ungrateful response was, "What?
Manna again? All we ever get is this crummy bread from heaven.
Wonderbread...ugh! We wanna go back to Egypt!"
The Bread of Life
Now don't judge these people too quickly. In John chapter
six of the New Testament, we find Jewish leaders complaining
about Jesus. Even His disciples were grumbling at His words. He
declared, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not
hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst ... Your
fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died... if
anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever" (John
6:35,49,51). After this, "many of His disciples withdrew, and
were not walking with Him anymore" (John 6:66).
A lot of people today pray the "sinner's prayer" found in
3rd Corinthians. They say, "Jesus, come into my heart. Be my
Savior. Amen." Then a few weeks later when the wife or the new
car they prayed for hasn't arrived on their doorstep, they start
looking back. They didn't realize the cross had two sides. The
death side and the resurrection side. Many people want their
resurrection right on the cross. Or worse, they want a padded
cross with a pillow and a sunlamp. One that's real comfortable.
No way. The cross hurts so they start thinking, "Gee, this peace
is not only passing understanding, it's passing notice! I don't
even see it? Where's my peace?!"
Pretty soon they're thinking, "I thought this would be a
joyful experience. Before I prayed to receive Jesus, I could have
anything I wanted - this is starting to be a drag!" Then they
complain to the Lord. "I know you're supposed to be the Bread of
Life, but I'm getting hungry for my old friends, my old ways, my
old life."
It's not that God doesn't have enough patience when we pray
complaining prayers. But sometimes He allows us to have exactly
what we've been praying for! Yes. God sometimes answers prayers
of the flesh. But I guarantee you won't like the results.
Be Careful How You Pray
The Israelites complained about manna and demanded meat and
the Lord told them He would give them meat to eat. Now I can hear
everyone saying, "Hey, complaining pays off! We ought to do it
more often!" The Lord said, "You shall eat not one day... but a
whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes
loathsome to you - because you have rejected the Lord, who is
among you..saying, 'Why did we ever leave Egypt?'" (Numbers
11:19-20).
The Lord, knowing their hearts, knew they'd rejected Him for
their appetites. So He gave them what they thought they wanted.
God sent a wind to bring quail in from the sea and they covered
the ground three feet deep for a day's walk in any direction.
Quail City! Not to mention the other ... you know ... the other
things that quail bring. It must have been quite an answer to
prayer! "And the people spent all day and all night and all the
nest day gathering the quail (he who gathered the least amount
gathered ten homers) and they spread them out for themselves..."
One homer equals 11 bushels so the person who gathered the
least, gathered 110 bushels - for himself! God's people - flesh
personified (verses 31-32).
"And while the meat was still between their teeth... the Lord
struck the people with a very severe plague. So the name of that
place was call Ki-brothhattaavah, because there they buried the
people who had been greedy" (verses 33-34). The name actually
means "the graves of greediness." God answered their complaining
prayer abundantly and they added insult to injury. There was no
praise, no thanksgiving, no trust, and no faith. Just greed.
Many, many people died in that plague.
Are you restless in your faith because you haven't seen an
answer to some important prayer? Have you been grumbling because
you've trusted God for a need you don't feel He's taken care of.
Have you been longing for the way things used to be? Have you
been ungrateful for what the Lord has given you?
Don't allow your flesh to win over your spirit, carrying you
into a dead faith - or worse, into outright rejection of the Lord
#2 Complaints of Jealousy
Numbers reveals another dangerous complaint that's buried in
each one of us like a ticking bomb. In Numbers 12:1 it says,
"Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite
woman whom he had married... " On the surface, their complaint
seemed to be about Moses choosing a non-Jewish wife. But we know
Moses was a praying man with a face-face relationship with God
and apparently God gave Moses the goahead to marry her. Actually,
Miriam and Aaron were judging Moses and - once they began to
gripe, their real complaint came out. In the very next verse they
said. "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken
through us as well?"
You don't have to dig too deep to see the sin of jealousy.
God had elevated Moses to a place of leadership, honor, and
respect. And his own brother and sister couldn't stand it! Their
complaint didn't come from physical appetite, like the people
demanding meat. They complained because of hungry egos!
Unfortunately egos didn't become extinct at the close of the Old
Testament. Some New Testament Christians like us, have New
Testament ego problems. By that I mean we sometimes get jealous
and complain against our brothers and sisters in the Lord. I've
seen this kind of jealousy between close friends who got involved
in ministry at the same time. One of them is put in a leadership
position and you'd expect the other one to be happy for him
because Paul says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice" (Romans
12:15).
But all too often the response is a bruised ego. Then the
grumbling starts. "Why does he get to lead the Bible study? I've
been a Christian longer than he has. I led him to the Lord! Last
night he took five minutes to find Haggai!"
Sadly, one reason we get jealous of Christian preachers,
teachers, or performers, is because we see others idolizing them.
We should be offended at that, but if some of us get honest,
we'll admit we want that kind of respect and admiration too.
Maybe you've never seen it this way, but sometimes we want to be
idolized.!
Jesus had to settle this problem among his 12 closest
friends the night before He was crucified. He'd already told them
He was about to die, and they were grieving, right? Wrong. The
week before they had watched Him hailed as King when He entered
Jerusalem and now they were arguing over who would be the
greatest in His Kingdom (Luke 22:24)! I would've gone out and
looked for 12 new disciples! But Jesus took a towel and a basin
of water, and washed their feet one by one, like a common
household servant. Then He said, "Do you know what 1 have done to
you? You call me teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so l
am. If I then ... washed your feet, you also ought to wash one
another s feet" (John 13:12-14).
Are you complaining because no one recognizes your gifts?
Are you picking at the flaws in leaders? Are you murmuring be
cause someone besides you is getting attention and praise?
Paul warned one group of Christians:
"But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be
consumed by one another" (Galatians 5:15).
Jealous complaining is like a destructive cancer. God
allowed Miriam and Aaron to feel the cancer-effect of their
complaints against Moses. In anger, the Lord struck Miriam with
leprosy - the cancer of that age (Numbers 12:10). Though He
cleansed her of the leprosy, she and Aaron were later forbidden
to enter the Promised Land "because of rebellion" (Numbers
20:24).
The message is clear. Sometimes our complaints come from
hungry egos we haven't surrendered to the Lord. If you've been
complaining because no one's recognizing your gifts, surrender
your ego to God before it becomes like a cancer, devouring your
brothers and sisters in Christ, and consuming your own spirit.
Your complete surrender will allow God to cleanse you. Then you
will be ready to take your position in His Kingdom.
#3 Complaints of Unbelief
In Numbers 13, we find that the complaints against Moses and
Aaron have really heated up. What's key for us is the way they
handled it.
At the Lord's command Moses chose 12 men to go spy out the
land of Canaan. He didn't send flunkies, but the leaders of the
tribes. Joshua and Caleb led them across the Jordan to see if the
land was fertile and how hard it would be to conquer. They
returned with a cluster of grapes so big it took two men to carry
it. They also returned with two different reports. Caleb was full
of faith. He said, "We should by all means go up and take
possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it" (verse 30).
But the other men who went with Joshua and Caleb "gave out to the
sons of Israel a bad report... saying, 'The land...devours its
inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of
great size,'" They dragged out some old wives' tale about a tribe
of giants called Nephilim and they said they were like mere
grasshoppers in comparison. They totally lost sight of God and
brought back a bad report about the Promised Land.
Well, one thing the Israelites knew how to do by now was
complain and they spent all night doing it.
By morning everyone was grumbling against Moses and Aaron.
They wanted to kill them, appoint a new, leader, and return to
Egypt. How stupid. Did they think God would open the Red Sea for
them again? Or that the Egyptians would be happy to see them
after they had drowned their whole army?
Anyway, the people went to kill Moses and Aaron and just
before the stones began to fly "the glory of the Lord appeared.
... to all the Israelites" (Numbers 14:10). God offers to take
care of the problem for Moses, saying, "I will smite them with
pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make YOU into a nation
greater and mightier than they" (verse 12). God was offering
Moses the same covenant He'd made with Abraham! This was Moses'
big chance!
But what did Moses do? He prayed for those complaining,
rebellious people! He said, "Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this
people according to the greatness of Thy lovingkindness, just as
Thou also hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now"
(verse 19). Moses did just what Jesus commands us to do when He
said, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is
in heaven... " (Matthew 5:44-45).
Remember Saul? Who do you think was praying far him on the
road to Damascus? Saul was the most vicious Christian-killer in
the land and the Christians were probably on their knees crying
out on his behalf. God made Saul into a new man with a new name.
And on the cross, when Jesus had been scourged, spat upon, and
deserted by His closest friends, He prayed, "Father forgive them,
for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).
There's a big difference between people who say they're
followers of Jesus and people who follow Jesus. Moses asked God
to forgive the people of Israel, and reminded Him of His
compassion. In other words, "This won't be good for Your glory or
fame throughout the world if you kill these people." Here's a man
unselfishly reasoning with God. Does God need to be reminded
about His nature? No. But God needs to be reminded we believe His
nature. God didn't strike the people dead, but Joshua and Caleb
were the only ones of that generation He let into the Promised
Land.
When you step out into the Wilderness of Faith, it's a one
way ticket. You either die in the wilderness, or you enter the
Promised Land. You can't go back to the world. Many people think
they can, but they're never the same. They are jaded, cynical,
sarcastic.
Some turn reprobate. I'm not talking about backsliding, I'm
talking about completely turning away from the Lord and denying
Him. They spiritually die out in the wilderness.
Let me ask you this: Are you willing to forgive those who
hurt you? Or do you complain, gossip, and backbite? Do you ask
God to "get them" or do you pray for mercy? Moses' prayer saved
the people of Israel from instant destruction. Our prayers can
change the hearts of our enemies. They can even change their
eternal destiny.
We can obey God, or act according to our flesh. The greatest
plan for victory over our enemies is prayer. Prayer shows our
belief in the mercy and power of God. If we reject God's Word, we
reject Him. When we complain about the one who has wronged us
instead of praying for him, we end up being the loser. Grumbling
and complaining is evidence of our unbelief in God's sovereignty
and His ability to work things out for His glory and our good.
In Closing
Let's take a "relationship inventory." Are you holding on to
hurts? Bitterness? Are you in competition, or a battle with
someone? Are you walking in unbelief? Maybe your flesh has opened
the door to an ungrateful spirit. Ask God's forgiveness for your
grumbling and complaining right now. He can soften your heart and
give you a spirit like His, willing to do battle in prayer - even
for your enemies.
Thank you Lord for giving us Your own Spirit which doesn't
only come upon us, but lives inside of us by Your Word. Lord
Jesus, help us to believe in You and in others. Help us give a
good report of all men and of all ministries. And Lord we ask
forgiveness for grumbling and murmuring and complaining because
we know You hate it. It's the greatest proof of our unbelief. God
we want to be believers, not just in word, but also in deed.
Spank us quickly if we murmur and complain before it grows into
the sin of Israel - and send Your blessing of believing faith
upon us. We love You Lord Jesus.
.................
This article was edited and paraphrased by David Hazard and
Melody Green from a teaching given by Keith Green in 1979.
"Grumbling and Complaining" was reprinted from an article in The
Last Days Magazine.
I Keith Hunt, have printed it from ACTS Magazine (March 1997), a
publication of the General Churches of God, Meridian, ID, USA
NOTE:
The sin of grumbling and complaining with people and church
organizations (that indeed may have left the straight and narrow
path) often takes its battle axe to the head. Instead of either
trying to bring truth and reform (which can often be hard to do
if not impossible some times) and finally walking away from a
"church" that has moved over to the wrong side of the tracks,
when reform is not possible; Many turn away from God and Jesus,
they allow grumbling and complaining to turn into bitterness and
anger, and walk away from serving God and continuing to love His
word. Thousands have done this - walking away from God, back into
the world, when the Worldwide Church of God went off the tracks
and into heresy and false doctrine. Many I have known and I
thought did have a personal relationship with the Lord, turned
out to be just a play act - no depth at all - no real conversion
to God, only to an organization, and when the organization and
many of the church leaders with it FELL BIG TIME INTO THE SNARES
OF THE DEVIL - THEY TURNED THEIR BACK ON GOD HIMSELF.
KEEP YOUR EYES ON GOD AND CHRIST AND THE BIBLE - NOT ON HUMAN
PERSONS, ONLY IN THIS WAY WILL YOU WALK WITH GOD, BE HIS CHILD
THAT HE LOVES AND CARES FOR AND WILL PUT YOU IN HIS KINGDOM!
BE A POSITIVE PERSON - GIVE PRAISES TO GOD - SING TO HIM - READ
HIS PSALM - GIVE HIM THANKS - REMEMBER YOUR BLESSING - TALK TO
HIM ANYTIME ABOUT ANYTHING. THIS WAY YOU WILL KEEP AT BAY THE
ARROWS OF SATAN THAT OFTEN COME IN THE FORM OF GRUMBLING AND
COMPLAINING.
Keith Hunt (October 2007)
11. All about GAMBLING
What God's word has to say
IS GAMBLING A SIN?
by the late Richard Nickels (founder of "Giving and Sharing")
At Caesar's Palace In Las Vegas
Many people would give a lot of money to be where I am right
now. In fact many people are doing just that. I wouldn't give a
nickel (U.S. $0.05) for it all. What is "fun"? What is "pleasure"
to you? Your answer to these basic questions reveals a lot about
you.
I am at Caesar's Palace in glittering Las Vegas, Nevada
attending a computer seminar on behalf of my employer. This place
is aptly named, for the decadence which led to the decline and
fall of the Roman Empire is openly practiced at Caesar's Palace.
Caesar's is one of the most glamorous hotel/resort/casinos on the
famous "Las Vegas strip." Las Vegas is the gambling capital of
America, perhaps of the world. Millions of gambling, night club
hopping tourists, spend billions of dollars in this little spot
in the midst of a barren desert. To have an all expenses paid
trip to a luxury hotel in the midst of Las Vegas would be a dream
come true for many. It means nothing to me. I came here to learn
about computers, not to gamble and revel.
This is a report to you of Las Vegas and its popular
"pleasures." I will keep asking you the question: is this your
idea of "fun" and "pleasure"?
Caesar's Palace is a beautiful place. Water fountains are
brilliantly lit up at night. Marble statues of Roman emperors,
naked gods and goddesses adorn this "palace." Long, elevated
escalators called "people movers" escort visitors into the
resort, along with the recorded voice of "Caesar" welcoming you
to this "palace of pleasure" of the Roman Empire. For $50 you can
experience an authentic Roman feast, a "bacchanal." The casino
winds seemingly endlessly for acres. Hundreds of slot machines,
gaming tables for roulette, baccarat, craps, blackjack and poker
are jammed with people all day and most of the night seven days a
week. Keno (a game in which you select numbers from 1 through 80)
is very popular. One huge area is the sports betting area, with
horse race data, sports events listed and giant television
screens showing several sports events from around the country.
One can bet on almost any sports event. Plush carpets, dim
lights, sparkling brass and crystal fixtures give the casino
atmosphere a luxurious, pleasing texture.
In order to attract crowds, the casinos on the strips have
some of the world's most illustrious and creative neon lights.
Meals are advertised at low prices to gain more customers. World
famous entertainers such as Bill Cosby, Joan Rivers, Tom Jones,
etc. are currently playing at night shows. Caesar's Palace
entertainment showcase is called the "Circus Maximus."
Watching people gamble is literally an education. Casino
staff are trained to be stoic, unemotional professionals. High
stakes are bet on the gaming tables without any emotion. The
gamblers, especially the ones playing the slot machines, seem to
be machines themselves, putting in coin after coin and pulling
the lever of the "one-armed bandit." Are the retired people, or
the younger people here really having "fun"?
Once in a while someone strikes it rich with a big payoff.
One of the convention goers here won over $200,000. Perhaps that
individual had fun for the moment. However, federal taxes are
deducted before the payoff is made. Does such a Jackpot winner
wisely invest the remainder of the big winnings or is it wasted
and soon spent? Would you find true happiness if you became a big
"winner"? There aren't man. happy, smiling people in the
smoke-filled casinos. One of the most obvious things observed was
that casinos all look the same. They all have the same equipment
and the same games. The odds are in favor of the house. Most
gamblers are losers.
Even at the restaurants at Caesar's, you cannot escape
gambling. There are Keno cards at every table, and scantily clad
female "Keno runners" will take your cards and wagers. Keno
screens announce the numbers drawn.
The Other "Pleasures
One cannot escape what is going on in this place.
Prostitution must be Nevada's second largest business. I was
asked by a flashily dressed lady if I wanted some
"companionship." No, I did not. Instead of the normal newspaper
stands, in Las Vegas you can pick up a free copy of the "Las
Vegas Bachelor Guide." This "wholesome", "family" magazine has
pictures of semi-nude women with their telephone numbers. Laura
hawks her services "Let's explore our fantasies together... I'm
waiting for your call." It's a sex supermarket. If you like sex
resorts, there is the Chicken Ranch. No, this ranch does not
provide hens for Kentucky Fried Chicken. It is a "legal, licensed
brothel" as the ad says. It has a well stocked bar, Jacuzzi, and
a 3,200 foot runway so that you can fly in your private plane for
a weekend of "fun." The 18 ladies of the Chicken Ranch must be
attractive as well as intelligent. They provide "quality
company." You see, prostitution is legal in Nevada. Sure it's
illegal in other states, but it's commonly ignored by most
policemen and judges in this country. Nevada is openly
pro-gambling and pro-prostitution.
What about these ladies? Their "profession" may be the
oldest, but do they really have "fun" doing what they are doing?
Do you suppose for one minute that they lead happy, healthy
lives? Is it fun?
Gambling and prostitution seem to be beneficial for the
owners of places like Caesar's Palace and for the State of
Nevada. The University of Nevada has ample funds for modern
buildings and a large staff, not needing to charge the excessive
tuitions that others colleges must to cover costs. Without
gambling, prostitution and other "tourism" businesses, Nevada
would not be the wealthy state it is, having only mining such as
silver (which is now in a down cycle) for its economy.
Drinking water in Nevada might not be best and most
plentiful in this desert state, but that is not a problem since
alcohol is the state's liquid supply. Alcoholic drinks are cheap
and plentiful. Is all this drunkenness and gambling "fun"? I
laughed when I saw that a Las Vegas gasoline station offers free
aspirin to get rid of hangover headaches!
Gambling, prostitution, alcohol and drugs are the
traditional staple products specialized in by organized crime
syndicates. Every coin in the slot machines adds a little to the
behind the scenes collection plate of "fun loving" gangsters.
People Love Gambling
Nevada and its top gambling spots of Las Vegas and Reno are
facing some stiff competition these days. State lotteries are
springing up all over the United States. There are a number of
congressional bills seeking to establish a national American
lottery to reduce the national debt. For readers in the United
Kingdom and British Commonwealth, this may seem to be archaic.
Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand surpass America in
gambling activities. Indeed, gambling is a worldwide phenomenon
that has most of the world's inhabitants enthralled. State
lotteries take in vast sums of money for local governments, which
is touted as "painless taxation." The take of lotteries rivals
that of casino and illegal gambling. U.S. voters, while hating
taxes, love lotteries, which supposedly reduce taxes. They have
approved every lottery ballot measure since New Hampshire started
the modern lottery movement in 1964.
Watching a casino roulette gambler here at Caesar's I was
amazed that people were betting on single numbers, because the
odds are 37 to 1 against them. The house always wins in these
cases. In state lotteries, the odds can be several million to
one! Yet people stampede to buy lottery tickets. On the first day
of the Missouri lottery in 1986, the state grossed $5.6 million
($1.14 for every person in the state). State lotteries pay back
only 45% of each dollar gambled, odds far more in favor of the
house than at any casino. Thomas Jefferson said, "The lottery is
a wonderful thing: It lays the taxation only on the willing."
Americans, Britons, indeed almost all peoples love to gamble.
Most people think it is fun to try to "strike it rich."
Religion and Gambling
Sooner or later an honest person will ask the question "Is
gambling a sin?" Most will avoid the question or merely
concentrate on the problem of compulsive gamblers. According to a
1975 study by the Survey Research Center, about 1.1 million
American adults are compulsive gamblers, and about three times
that number are borderline "gambler-holics." Many Australians and
New Zealanders are overboard into gambling. Their newspapers have
huge track racing sections daily. Stories of fathers gambling
away all the family savings to the impoverishment of their
children are true. Is moderate, controlled gambling an acceptable
action in the sight of the Creator? Let's face this issue
squarely.
Religion in general today avoids this "dead" moral issue.
You see, morality has declined to such a low level that items
that were once great moral issues are now non-issues, such as
Divorce and Remarriage and gambling.
The University of Nevada at Las Vegas has a great collection
of books on gambling. A few, written mainly before 1900, are
against gambling. There is almost no current material on the
subject of gambling from a moral, Biblical viewpoint.
Nevada's dominant religion is the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, the Mormons. If the Mormons wanted to, they
could put a stop to gambling and prostitution in Nevada. Are they
silent because they profit from the influx of gambling and
prostitution money into their state?
Some members of Sabbath keeping churches such as the
Worldwide Church of God, and Church of God International gamble
during the Feast of Tabernacles celebrations. Garner Ted
Armstrong has been seen gambling for high stakes in a Nevada
casino, all the while claiming to be a minister of Jesus Christ.
(I do not have the date of year this study was written, but
obviously it was after Ted Armstrong was kicked out of Worldwide
Church of God in 1978 and formed his CGI church - so this study
was probably written in the middle 1980s - Keith Hunt)
It is almost impossible to find any religion, other than
extreme fundamentalists, that is against all forms of gambling.
Religion has promoted gambling. From Roman Catholic Church bingo
to state lotteries, self professed "Christians" have advanced the
prevalence of gambling. Caesar's Palace exists because religion
has approved it, because religious people enjoy gambling. Is
gambling "fun" and "pleasure" to you?
What Gambling Is
Let us define gambling.
Gambling is the determination of the ownership of property
by appeal to chance. Chance is the resultant play of natural
forces that cannot be controlled or calculated by those who
appeal to it. Most games of chance have some degree of skill,
such as horse racing. Godly labor, or human effort, is the
natural basis of the right of property. Some proportion of
property must be guaranteed to the individual who exerts himself
in productive labor. Gambling, however, is the denial of all
system in the apportionment of property. (Bettina and Gambling. A
National Evil, by B. Seebohm Rowntree, New York: 1905).
Gambling is an activity in which the players voluntarily
transfer, money or something else of value among themselves
contingent upon the outcome of some future and uncertain event.
Apparently, games of chance originated out of religious and
magical practices. As we shall see, gambling and appealing to
chance are mentioned frequently in the Bible.
Jewish moralists have opposed gambling but the practice of
gambling has been widespread among Jews since the Middle Ages.
Catholics hold that nothing is wrong with gambling provided that
the game is honest, the stakes moderate and within the means of
the players, and the money staked is one's own.
The "Protestant work ethic," however, is squarely opposed to
gambling. Protestant fundamentalists hold that gambling violates
godly work habits, prudence, thrift, and principles of fair play
with reward for effort. (International Encyclopdia of the Social
Sciences, article "Gambling").
Playing the stock market is gambling. This means buying
stock without the idea to invest in the company's growth, in the
hope that by chance the value of the stock will increase.
Speculating in commodities is likewise gambling if one buys or
sells simply on the blind hope that the market will turn one's
way. Company sports pools based on the total number of runs
scored by various combinations of teams is a form of lottery.
Gambling is as common to man as religion. Romans and Greeks
gambled freely. Tacitus in his Germanic described the gambling
fever of the early Germanic peoples, who would stake their
liberty at dice. Germanic and English peoples have long been avid
gamblers. The Encyclopedia Britannica (article "Gambling") says
that "Gambling has existed in every known society from the most
primitive to the most complex." Here is the Britannica's
definition of gambling: "Gambling is the betting or staking of
something of value, with consciousness of risk and hope of gain,
on the outcome of a game, a contest, or an uncertain event whose
result may be determined by chance or accident or which may gave
an unexpected result by reason of the bettor's miscalculation."
The casual gambler often does not feel that he or she is
gambling when they risk a small amount they can afford without
deprivation. Twenty dollars to a middle class American is not of
much value. Charitable lotteries give the gambler an excuse for
gambling, and justifying it by contributing to a "good cause." A
superior golfer may wager on his success at a game of golf and
claim that it is not gambling but based on skill only. This is
not so, because he may have misjudged his opponent's skill, or on
occasion he may not play his usual game.
Here are some examples of things that have some features of
gambling but are not actually gambling. Mail order sweepstakes
usually offer something to sell along with a "free" drawing. For
example, if you want to buy their product, you mail off the order
blank and are automatically entered in a free drawing. A new
store may have a free promotional drawing to encourage new
customers. This is not gambling. Those who make a profession of
seeking out and entering free contests and drawings demonstrate
that if you enter enough contests as many times as possible,
sooner or later you are likely to win something. This may not
actually be gambling but it is certainly a waste of time.
Buying a home instead of renting is not gambling. Real
estate values may rise and fall, but the home buyer is providing
shelter based upon an economic decision, weighing all risks.
There is a definite payback in living in a house, unlike the
uncertainty of a payoff in gambling. Those who speculate in the
housing market hoping for a big payoff when the market goes up
are indeed gambling. There are many risks we must take in our.
daily lives that are not gambling. Insurance is NOT gambling, but
a method to share risks and the expenses involved in unforeseen
accidents. If an accident occurs to insured property or persons,
there is a certain payoff, unlike the chance in gambling.
Results of Legalised Gambling
We need to expose gambling for what it is: an immoral system
that is a curse on our society. Even the non-Christian should
oppose legalized gambling. Analyzing legalized gambling today,
several hard realities can be proved:
(1) Legalization of gambling stimulates illegal gambling and
encourages related types of crime. Organized crime can step in
and offer their customers better odds because illegal winnings
are not taxed. Bookies offer credit and other types of gambling,
such as sports betting. Gambling encourages white collar crime
because middle class high stakes players may lose big and resort
to embezzlement or thievery in order to support their habit and
pay off their debts.
(2) Legalized gambling produces a substantial increase in the
number of compulsive gamblers. A Delaware study reported that 86
percent of compulsive gamblers commit felonies. The American
Insurance Institute estimates that as much as 40 percent of U.S.
white collar crime comes from compulsive gamblers. Experts say
gamblers are made not born, and that legalized gambling
encourages those on the edge to cross over the line.
(3) Legalized gambling is not a significant source of state
revenue and creates few if any jobs. No one has yet seen their
state taxes go down because of the lottery. California, which
dedicates its lottery revenues to public education, dropped state
funding of education by the exact amount contributed by the state
lottery. Legislators merely shifted tax monies to other areas.
(4) Gambling hurts the poor because most betting is done by lower
and lower-middle income individuals who can ill afford to waste
their money trying to strike it rich. Studies have shown that
poor are three to seven times more likely to bet on the
lottery than the rich. Lotteries are in effect a regressive tax
soaking the poor.
The Bible and Gambling
What does the Bible say about gambling? There is no direct
Biblical prohibition against gambling. However, many principles
and examples are given, allowing us to draw proper spiritual
conclusions.
Samson wagered 30 shirts and changes of garments with the
Philistines to see if they could guess his riddle, Judges 14:12-
13. Due to Philistine pressure on his bride, he lost the bet and
in anger Samson slew 30 Philistines to pay off the debt, verses
14-19. There were a lot of bad repercussions from this one bet.
In spite of his sins, the Eternal was using Samson to free His
people from the Philistines.
The garments of the impaled Messiah were parted by lot,
Psalm 22:18, Matthew 27:35, Luke 23:34, John 19:23-24. Haman, the
enemy of the Jews, cast lots to fix the time of execution of the
Jews, Esther 3:7, 9:24. The enemies of Judah and Jerusalem cast
lots for God's people, Joel 3:3, Obadiah 11. These are additional
examples of wrong use of games of chance, of gambling.
Numerous Biblical passages show the correct use of "chance,"
that is, appeal to "natural" forces that cannot be controlled by
those who appeal to it. These are not "gambling" because property
was not given up, and the "chance" was not whim but the divine
will of the Creator. Man has long desired to know the specific
will of His Creator. The Eternal gave a physical means of knowing
His will, the Urim and Thummim (Hebrew: "lights" and
"perfections").
In Exodus 28:30 we are told they were part of Aaron's
"breastplate of judgment." Not a word describes them in detail.
They are mentioned as things already familiar to Moses and the
people, and connected naturally with the functions of the high
priest who mediated between YHWH and His people, Leviticus 8:8.
The scapegoat was chosen by lot, Leviticus 16:8-10. The land of
Canaan was divided among the tribes by lot, Numbers 26:55, Joshua
18:10, Acts 13:19, Isaiah 34:17. The garments of Aaron were
passed on to his son Eleazar, Numbers 20:28. When Joshua succeeds
Moses, he is told to stand before Eleazar, "who shall ask counsel
for him after the judgment of Urim," Numbers 27:21. The Urim and
Thummim are the crowning glory of the tribe of Levi, Deuteronomy
33:8-9, Ezra 2:63.
Achan's guilt was determined by lot, Joshua 7:14-18. Saul
was chosen king by lot, I Samuel 10:20-21. The order of service
by priests and Levites was determined by lot, I Chronicles
24:5-31, 26:13. Jonathan was identified by lot, I Samuel
14:41-42. So was Jonah, Jonah 1:7. The Jews returning from
captivity determined by lot who would live in Jerusalem, Nehemiah
11:1. The eleven apostles cast lots between two candidates to
allow God to decide who should replace Judas Iscariot, Acts 1:26.
In most of these instances, lots were used to determine the
Almighty's will. Proverbs 16:33, "The lot is cast into the lap;
but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD." Proverbs 18:18,
"The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the
mighty [RSV: decides between powerful contenders]."
Josephus states that the Urim and Thummim stones gave the
Eternal's answer by illuminating. He reports that the priest's
breastplate stopped illuminating 200 years before Christ,
(Antiouities of the Jews, 5:2:1, 3:8:9, 3:7:5). Others say that
the stones were part of the priest's garment and symbolic of the
Lord giving His word to the priest. I Samuel 14:3, 18-19, 41-42,
23:4,9, 11-12, Judges 20:9,27-28 and II Samuel 5:19,23 show
direct statements of the Eternal made as the result of inquiry. I
Samuel 28:6 shows three means the Eternal used to communicate
with His people: dreams, Urim and prophets.
In all Scriptural examples of the correct use of the lot to
determine God's will, it was a priest, prophet or apostle or
other representative of the Eternal who was authorized to use
this method of discerning God's will. The ordinary person is not
to use lots. The Bible shows that unscrupulous persons resort to
chance to further their own selfish interests.
Why Gambling is Wrong
(1) Gambling discourages honest labor. The Bible supports the
concept of the so-called "Protestant work ethic". Proverbs 14:23
(Amplified) tells us, "In all labor there is profit, but idle
talk leads only to poverty." Profit should come through
productive labor, not by chance.
"Wealth not earned but won in haste, or unjustly, or from the
production of things for vain or detrimental use, such riches
will dwindle away; but he who gathers little by little will
increase them." Proverbs 13:11, (Amplified). See also Proverbs
28:19.
(2) Gambling encourages greed, materialism and discontent. See
Luke 12:15, Hebrews 13:5, I Timothy 6:6-10, Psalm 62:10. Lottery
promotions induce people to covet the money of others. Gambling
such as lotteries are engaged in by people hoping to win a lot of
money without earning it, which is a dishonest attitude. Money
won in gambling comes from other players, including some who can
ill afford to gamble. Gambling in its essence is a form of
robbery, which is stealing. Each gambler wants to get the prize
money for himself. It encourages greedy obsession with material
wealth, which is having another god in place of the true Creator.
Gambling directly breaks the first, eighth and tenth
commandments, and all the others in principle.
Gambling is basically LUST. Anyone with the Spirit of the
Eternal should be able to discern this fact. Here at Caesar's
Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, where "pleasure" and self-indulgence
reign supreme, lust is everywhere.
I John 2:15-17, "Love not the world neither the things that
are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of
the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is
not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth
away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God
abideth for ever."
Proverbs 21:25-26, "The desire of the slothful killeth him;
for his hands refuse to labour. He coveteth greedily all the day
long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not."
(3) Gambling encourages - get rich quick- thinking. See Proverbs
28:20,22; 21:5.
Proverbs 23:4-5, "Labour not to be rich: cease from thine
own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for
riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle
toward heaven."
(4) Gambling encourages reckless investment of God-given
resources. See Matthew 25:14-30. If gambling is "fun" and
"pleasure" to you, you already have your reward. If you are
denying yourself, serving the Eternal 100% with your time
and resources, you will not make the pitifully weak (and false)
excuse: "But I have a right to throw away my money at
gambling!" You know that your life, your wealth are not yours. If
you follow the Bible, you are a slave to the Messiah. You, your
money, everything you have are His. Would Jesus gamble?
Definitely not!
Sabbath keepers who spend the second tithe (for Festival
observance - those who like to travel near or far to observe the
Feast of Tabernacles unsually put aside a second tithe. I have
written on that as to whether it is necessary today, but
certainly a person is free to do so if they like observing the
Feast of Tabernacles that way - Keith Hunt) on gambling are no
different than infidels who spend their allotted vacation money
on gambling. Gambling, prostitution, drunkenness and ribald night
clubs are no atmosphere for the Bible believer. One year we kept
the Feast of Tabernacles at Squaw Valley, California, across the
border from Reno, Nevada's other gambling Mecca. One evening of
the Feast we went over to Nevada to a dinner show where we heard
male vocalist Ed Ames. Mr.Ames' music is generally very wholesome
and uplifting. However I have often felt since that time that a
gambling casino was no atmosphere for us to be in. Jesus was
invited to dinners given by Pharisees as well as tax collectors.
He preached the truth wherever He went, but He did not support
corrupt practices.
(And Jesus was teaching people the word of God in those
environments, not just there to relax and saying nothing about
the Gospel - Keith Hunt)
Satan is a gambler. He should know that the "house" (the
Father) has the odds in its favor. He lost before and soon Satan
will stake it all on a last desperate gamble to overthrow his
Maker. What foolishness!
Salvation is no gamble. It is sure.
The only question is whether we are going to patiently
remain faithful, stedfast to the end. Or are we going to
foolishly risk it all on the fleeting lusts and pleasures of this
world?
Which would you prefer: Caesar's Palace with its glitter and
lustful pleasures and the friends of this world? Or a cool
forested hideaway with clean air and water, with a few of the
Eternal's people? Lot took the popular plain of Sodom, while
Abraham took the sparsely populated hills. God's country is
"where the pleasure is."
Psalms 16:11, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy
presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are
pleasures for evermore."
(It is very true, there are simply SOME PLACES the true child of
God should NOT BE IN, PERIOD! - Keith Hunt)
Gambling is a sin.
Compulsive gamblers can overcome their obsession with
gambling by and through the power of the Almighty. Gambling is a
curse, closely associated with gangsterism, prostitution, theft,
narcotics, and drunkenness. Is it right for people to prey on the
lusts and greedy appetites of others? Is it right to throw money
down a rathole, for no constructive purpose other than
"entertainment"? To attempt to get something for nothing, without
working for it? NO!
Gambling is the opposite of love. Its prime motive is to
get, which is Satan's way. God's way is one of giving and
sharing. Casinos exist to take your money, trying to make it
appear as painless as possible. True love is to give and share.
An honest day's work for honest wages. Constructive, honest and
productive - labor builds character. Gambling builds lust, greed,
cheating, and selfishness. There are no positive attributes of
gambling. Any "charity" that resorts to gambling for fund raising
is wrong.
Stay away from all forms of gambling. Labor honestly for
productive wealth. Wisely use your resources for the Eternal's
services. Don't be a loser. Don't gamble.
..................
NOTE:
Ask yourself, will God allow "lotteries" and places like Caesar's
Palace in Las Vegas, in the Kingdom of God on earth for the 1,000
years reign promised in Revelation 20? I do not think so, in fact
I'm possitive such gambling will not be in that glorious Kingdom
of God on earth - Keith Hunt
12. HUMILITY -the precious GEM of the Christian crown
Few get to wear it!
Paul was led to prophesy nearly two thousand years ago, that in
our age, the last days before the return of Christ and the new
age of the Kingdom of God on earth, HUMILITY would be a rare gem.
"For people will be.....PROUD, ARROGANT AND CONTEMPTUOUS
BOASTERS.....INFLATED WITH SELFCONCEIT....." (2 Timothy 3:1-
4; Amplified Bible).
by
Keith Hunt
We have had, and still have, those who lead nations of
various political groups, who do nothing but boast of their
greatness. These are individuals who are inflated with conceit
about what they would do IF in a position of power. On the other
hand, those that already are in powerful positions brag of the
great things they and their political party have done for the
benefit of their nation and mankind.
We have had, in the past, those who shout and threaten to
annihilate others in war. Unfortunately, these individuals are
still with us.
We have those with earthly riches who are arrogant and
domineering toward those with few earthly riches. Then we have
those that are poor in material goods being proud and
contemptuous of the rich.
There have been, and no doubt will be again, those in the
world of sports who claim "I'm the greatest" and time proves they
were not so great after all! Yes, and even in the place that you
would least expect to find it - RELIGION - there's PRIDE and
CONCEIT RAISING its INFLATED HEAD. Some religious leaders of
different denominations feel they must always be in the limelight
of their church papers, magazines, news letters, etc. Many
individuals think they are indispensable, no matter how old they
are and there is no one else that can preach, teach, or broadcast
like themselves! We could go on relating examples to the opposite
of HUMILITY, which is evident in our society today. Truly the
genuine gem of HUMILITY is a rare jewel.
In the WORLD BOOK DICTIONARY the word HUMBLE is defined as
"...having or showing a feeling that one is unimportant, weak,
poor, etc...modest in spirit, not proud, deeply or courteously
respectful...without wrongful pride in oneself or in
accomplishments..."
EXAMPLES OF HUMILITY
There was a man who had great wealth, notoriety and
prestige. He treated his servants very well. He helped the poor
and needy. He gave to widows and orphans in his realm. He was not
obsessed with his wealth or position and he was true to his wife
in body and mind. Idolatry was not a part of his worship. This
man had no hatred for anyone, including his enemies. He shared
his home with travellers and was known for his hospitality. All
of these accomplishments and more were this man's badge, and if
any man deserved to be proud and boastful, it was this man. And
that was his weakness. He was CONCEITED and SELFRIGHTEOUS. His
name was Job. Read the narrative in Job chapter 31 and 32:1.
Finally, the Lord spoke to Job and brought him to see that
even with all his abilities and good deeds, he was nothing
compared to the Almighty. (Read Job 38 through 41). Humility
became a part of Job's character when he uttered these words,
"Therefore (I now see) I have (rashly) uttered what I did not
know...I had heard of you (only) by the hearing of the ear; but
now my (spiritual) eye sees you. Therefore I loathe (my words)
and abhor myself, and repent in sackcloth and ashes" (Job
42:3-6).
It took some drastic measures on God's part (by allowing
Satan to do some painful things to Job) to bring Job to true
REPENTANCE and HUMILITY. I guess God could have used another
method, but for whatever reason He chose the ones He did. Human
nature is such that many, it seems, have to be brought low before
HUMILITY is their own experience. With many who are brought low,
we find PRIDE and CONCEIT a big part of their personality too. So
the proverb, "PRIDE GOES BEFORE DESTRUCTION, AND A HAUGHTY SPIRIT
BEFORE A FALL" (Proverbs 16:18) becomes a reality.
On the other hand, true honor usually comes only to those
who have exhibited a humble spirit. For example, the great
statesman, Sr.Winston Churchill (who inspired the Allies during
World War 2) found himself ridiculed, derided and made a
political exile in his own country. All because he dared to warn
his country that Hitler was out to conquer the world. It was not
until war broke out that Mr.Churchill was honored by being
called to lead the British nation against Hitler. The proverb
says, "...before honer is HUMILITY" (Proverbs 18:12).
A person with true humility will exhibit the quality of
character that acknowledges areas of weakness in his/her own
abilities. When Moses was called of God from the burning bush to
lead Israel out of Egypt, he did not answer by saying he was
great and that the Lord had made a wise choice in choosing him.
No, Moses humbly came before his Creator, confessing the weak
areas of his character; public speaking with eloquence was not
one of his gifts! (See Exodus 3:10-11 & Exodus 4:10). Moses went
down in history as one of the greatest men, and it is recorded of
him in Numbers 12:3, "Now the man Moses was very meek (humble)
above all the men which were upon the face of the earth."
The great prophet Isaiah when called to prophesy against
Israel and other nations, immediately saw his sins and weakness
of character and confessed them (Isa. 6:1-7).
Jeremiah also humbly said he was too young, to immature to
speak (Jer.1:6).
The man God used to write more of the New Testament than any
other author was Paul. He wrote, "For I am less than the least of
all saints..." (I Cor.15:9; Eph.3:8). Paul's weakness and sins
(though under the blood of Jesus) kept him constantly HUMBLE as
he reflected on his life.
How many of those that God has used to speak and do his work
still remain humble, even though they have experienced success,
at least as the world defines success? (It is difficult to remain
humble and not become proud and egotistical when men give you
acclaim). Only the resurrection and history will tell.
When John the Baptist (whom Jesus said was fulfilling the
prophecy of Elijah to come, Mt.17:11-13, and that none among men
had risen who was greater Mt.11:11) was asked if he was Elijah,
or the Christ, or a great prophet, he answered, "I am the voice
of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord, as said the prophet Esaias..." (Jn.1:19-27). Although John
must have been told of the manifestations of God to his parents
concerning his birth; although he must have known as a boy and
a young man that he was destined for a great commission to
Israel, still he remained humble. His is one of the greatest
examples of true HUMILITY in the entire Bible.
HUMILITY IS TEACHABLE
Another characteristic that exhibits itself in those that
have the gem of humility in their crown, is the ability to accept
and to seek counsel from others. Humility knows the wise truth of
the proverb that says, "in the multitude of counsellors there is
safety" (Prov. 11 :14) .
Notice how the meek man Moses was able to accept the wise
counsel of his father-in-law (Exodus 18:13-27). He not only
accepted it, he acted on it.
This example brings us to the realization that no one man is
an island unto himself. It is a true saying that there is
strength in numbers. A truly humble person will acknowledge that
he is not the sum total of all wisdom, knowledge and
understanding. That he can only do so much, spread himself just
so thin, before he becomes a shattered physical wreck.
A meek and humble person will realize that others have God
given talents and abilltles, and will be delighted to use these
attributes to enhance the whole. He will be glad to delegate
responsibility and share the betterment of the whole. He will
show trust and confidence in them (not forever looking over their
shoulder) but always there to strengthen and assist when needed.
Again, read Moses' example in Exodus 18, where he chose able men
to help him govern Israel.
HUMILITIES GREATEST TEST
Perhaps the greatest test for anyone in exhibiting humility
(a test that many, who have enjoyed the acclaim of others while
in a position of authority, fail) is to humbly step aside in
favor of another person or group. This is the crucial test.
Many gifted and talented people in various walks of life
have humbled themselves in all facets of physical living except
this one area - a willingness to relinquish power and control.
They always must be in control and make the final decision or
veto the decisions of others, thus keeping themselves as the
supreme and only authority. The failure of not passing this final
test means they have not been able to achieve total or GODLY
HUMILITY.
Elijah was a man powerfully used by the Lord, not only in
preaching and warning, but also in performing great physical
miracles (I Kings 17:18; 21:17-29 and 2 Kings 1:1-17). But the
day came when God decided that Elijah's work should be given to
another. It was time for him to step aside, to no longer be in
the forefront of fame and glory. He was to relinquish his hold of
power and authority. Elijah was given the ultimate test and he
passed with flying colors (2 Kings 2:1-18). This is one of the
reasons Elijah and Moses (two of the most humble men in history)
were in vision at the transfiguration of Christ (Mt.17:1-13).
Those individuals that will be in the first resurrection, at
the return of Christ, will also exhibit like Moses, Elijah and
others, a humble God-like spirit. They will be the ones who will
be willing to follow the greatest example of humility to ever be
exhibited, our LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. He, who had all
perfection, glory and power, was, next to the Father in
GREATNESS. He of whom it is written, "...He, who had always been
God by nature, did not cling to his privileges as God's equal,
but stripped himself of every advantage by consenting to be a
slave and to be born a man. And plainly seen as a human being, he
HUMBLED himself by living a life of utter obedience, to the point
of death. And the death he died was a death of a common criminal.
That is why God has now lifted him to heights, and has given him
the name beyond all names. So that at the name of JESUS 'every
knee shall bow', whether in heaven or earth or under the earth.
And that is why every tongue shall confess that JESUS CHRIST is
LORD, to the glory of God the FATHER" (Phil.2:6-11, Phililps
translation, emphasis mine).
Truly, before praise must come HUMILITY!
HUMILITY IN SERVICE
If there is anyone who is reading these words and is seeking
for personal greatness in the eyes of mankind, whether it be in
the field of politics, finance, economics, science, sports, or
even religion, let him take to heart the admonition of Jesus in
Matt.20:25-28, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles rule it
over them, and their great men hold them in subjection,
tyrannizing over them. Not so shall it be among you; but whoever
wishes to be GREAT among you must be your servant. And whoever
desires to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son
of man came not to be waited on but to serve, and to give His
life as a ransom for many..." (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).
One of the main ingredients in HUMILITY is service to
others. This calibre of humility comes at great cost. It is the
epitome of a laid-down life, poured out, lived out on behalf of
others. Yes, it costs a great deal to experience and know true
humility. For most people it's a price that is prohibitive; they
simply will not pay it!
THE MEEK ARE NOT WEAK
Phillip Keller in his book "A Gardener Looks at the Fruits
of the Spirit" as stated it well:
The humble person is a gracious, congenial individual who is
easy to get along with. These good natured souls win friends
on every side because they refuse to shove, push, and throw
their weight around, they don't win their wars with brutal
battles and fierce fights. They win their way into hundreds
of hearts and homes with the passport of a lovely, loving
spirit. But this quality of life does not come from a
position of feeble impotence but rather from a tremendous
inner strength and serenity. Only the strong, stable spirit
can afford to be gentle.
Moses was, in many ways, a powerful, strong man, yet he was
the humblest of all men during his day.
Jesus Christ was the perfection of humility, yet He was by
no means a weak individual. Notice how He dealt with those who
misused the TEMPLE of God (Jn.2:13-17) and how, on occasions, He
answered the hypocritical religious leaders of His time (Mt.23).
Jesus is the center of Christianity - He set us the complete
example (I Peter 2:21) for us to follow. And as Phillip Keller,
in his book "A GARDENER LOOKS AT THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT" so
aptly put it on page 68, "Unless we keep clearly in view the
life and the character of Christ we will succumb to the eternal
temptation of living like our contemporaries, giving tit for tat,
insisting on our rights, demanding our pound of flesh, stepping
on anyone who trespasses against us, while all the time pushing
for PROMINENCE AND RECOGNITION. This is the world's way; Christ
calls us to tread in His footsteps. He tells us to deny ourselves
daily (give up our right to ourselves). He asks us to take up our
cross continuously (that which cuts diametrically across my
selfish interest), crossing out the great "I" in my life to
produce peace. None of this is very appealing. It goes against
the grain of our old nature. It is not a bit glamorous or
romantic" (emphasis mine).
THE BENEFITS OF HUMBLENESS
Humility has a basic fruitage of three fantastic benefits.
They could not be stated any better than Mr.P.Keller does in
his aforementioned book, I quote from pages 169 and 170:
1) "Humility is the only seedbed from which faith can
spring...in brokenness and contrition the humble person cries out
to God for help. He reaches out to Christ for restoration and
healing. He exercises faith in another because he knows he must
touch someone greater than himself.
2) It is to such souls that God gives Himself gladly, freely. He
draws near to those that draw near to Him. He delights to dwell
with those of a broken and contrite spirit. 'The Lord is nigh
unto them that are of a broken and contrite heart; and saves such
as be of a contrite (meek) spirit' (Ps.34:18)...in vivid and
shattering contrast we are warned explicitly that God actually
RESISTS the PROUD. He does not just tolerate or indulge arrogant
souls. He actually opposes them actively. This is a terrifying
truth that should make any self-centered, haughty individual
tremble (James 4:4-10).
3) In contrast to this, the third amazing reality about humility
is the impact it makes on our fellowman. It is the genuinely
humble, gentle soul who wins friends and draws around him a
circle of loving associates. This quality of life draws others as
surely as nectar in a blossom draws bees. The gentle genial
person is the recipient of affection. People bestow on him their
blessings. He is lavished with love and surrounded with
compassion. The proud, arrogant, haughty person has few friends,
if any. He stands upon his little pedestal of pride in grim and
gaunt loneliness. Others leave him alone. They ignore him
deliberately. If he is so independent, let him live his own Life;
let him go his own way; let him suffer the agony of his own
selfishness."
I will add one more benefit of HUMILITY, in fact. the
greatest benefit of all.
Those who humble themselves now, under the mighty hand of
God, will be exalted in due time and inherit everlasting GLORY as
a child of the Father in His Kingdom.
"By HUMILITY and fear of the Lord are RICHES, AND HONER, AND
LlFE" (Proverbs 22:4).
......................
Written in 1982
by
Keith Hunt
Permission is given to photo copy, e-mail, web site etc. any
article by Keith Hunt and distribute to others. Please remember
Jesus did say "do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they
trample them under feet." Be humble and be wise to who you share
the spiritual studies.
13. Christian Women and Dress?
The correct Allure!
An Issue of the Heart:
Modesty
By Ruth Faust
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues
of life" Proverbs 4:23
I want to talk about one of the issues of life, but first I
want to talk about truth. I believe that the church has lost
something valuable and is looking in the wrong place to find it.
Jesus said I am the truth, but the world rejects that truth and
the church today is looking to the world because that is the easy
place to look: but the truth is not there.
We know that Satan is the father of lies, and he is the
deceiver. In Matthew 13 Jesus tells a story about a man who sowed
good seed and while he slept his enemy came and sowed tares among
the wheat. I believe that is the condition of the church today,
while it has slept the enemy has sown seeds of deception. Steve
Wilkins, Pastor of Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church, in Monroe,
Louisiana said. we live in a world so dulled that we can no
longer discern good from evil. We have lost all sense of
propriety and thus have seen the virtual disappearance of
purity." (Propriety meaning-proper; character) So today, I want
to share with you some truth from the Word of God that I feel has
been lost.
The message is that our Creator designed a beautiful plan
for young men and young women. What God created as beautiful and
sacred was to be shared between one man and one woman in holy
matrimony. Satan has taken this truth and distorted it into
something to be casually thrown around, causing it to appear
cheap and vulgar. What has been lost: purity, innocence, even the
ability to blush.
Also, the following profound words were written on the back
of a CD I recently purchased from Vision Forum Ministries.
"The Church is being destroyed by sacred cows. A "sacred
cow" is an untouchable subject that we are not supposed to
discuss. To do so impinges upon another's "Christian
liberty....there are few sacred cows quite as sacred as the
right of modern Christians to dress however they please."
And we find in Ephesians, chapter four, Paul admonished the
church to stop being children tossed about by those who lie in
wait to deceive, but to speak the truth in love, in order to
"grow up" into Christ which is the head of the church.
I intend to speak the truth in love and I hope I may present
to you some eye-opening and thought-provoking ideas. I believe
this study is long overdue. And, while the word "modesty" may
sound sadly antique in these days, we also know we want to fit in
and to be accepted, but understand, there is a price to pay.
I want to share some information from a book called "Secret
Keeper - The Delicate Power of Modesty." 1 Mrs. Gresh divided
her book, directed towards a teen girl audience, into six
chapters. She states that she is going to give the raw facts and
she does speak relatively openly. I will briefly summarize them
below.
The Power
Mrs. Gresh explains that this power is unique to girls, i.e.
women, and that it is multidimensional. She defines it as their
allure, the mystifying, indefinable power of the female
attraction. The source of the power is modesty, a delicate, yet
formidable power. It is delicate because it can be so innocently
given away, without their even knowing it. It is formidable
because once they master it, no man will be given access to the
full secrets behind it until a woman so desires.
There is a story in Mark 6:21-23 that clearly illustrates
the allure or power of a woman. It says she danced before him and
that he was pleased. That is allures--that is power! What else
could incite a man to offer to give away up to half of his
kingdom? She must have been very beautiful and very graceful.
The Secret
God said, "it is not good for man to be alone" so he crafted
a masterpiece ... woman.
People are drawn to the beauty of the female image.
Advertisers have discovered that a photo of a woman will
increase the length of time someone spends with an ad by 14 to 30
percent! That is the allure.
Author Henry Rogers writes, "Women are beautiful to us
because God made them that way. Their beauty and our desire are
God-given. The nakedness of a woman has a powerful impact on us."
A woman's body can create quite a stir in guys. In Proverbs
5:18-19 NIV it tells a man to "rejoice in the wife of your youth"
and "...May you ever be captivated by her love." Mrs. Gresh
states that the Hebrew word "captivated" would be better
translated "intoxicated." She also emphasizes the important point
of explaining that the "captivation" is only to be shared with
one guy - after you are married. Until then it is to be kept
"under wraps," it is a secret to be shared only with your
husband. "The fullest secrets of the incredible masterpiece of
your body are to be your unique secret."
We all know that some girls are not the best secret keepers,
they flaunt their bodies. However, this doesn't mean that we
should dress unattractively; on the contrary, we have many
examples of women in the Bible who were called beautiful. Sarah
was so beautiful that Abraham was afraid other men might kill him
so they could have his wife.
Rebekah was "very beautiful and "a virgin."
Esther is probably the most acclaimed for her beauty.
I believe that people were attracted to these women not only
because of their outward beauty but because of their purity and
the fact that they were virtuous women. They possessed and inner
modesty. We must focus on more than outward beauty because that
beauty seems to fade as an unattractive personality comes
through. We have also met girls that become more and more
attractive as we get to know them, hence, their inner modesty and
beauty becomes more apparent.
The Mark!
Often we can get caught up in the motion of everything
around us and mirror the world instead of mirroring God's
holiness. She explains the illustration of a bull's - eye to
represent God's intended purpose for our lives and explains that
in the area of sexuality, God's purpose is for you to be an
expression of His beauty, and to "intoxicate" one man with that
beauty. The key is ONE MAN.
It is vital to understand how guys are affected by what they
see and what it means when a guy is "intoxicated" by a woman's
beauty. The autonomic nervous system, ANS, activates many of our
bodies' responses. This system is controlled by the environment
and NOT the will. If, for example you get lost or frightened, the
ANS basically takes over and you experience a rapid pulse or
maybe a sick feeling in your stomach. YOU cannot control these
reactions.
With a guy, who was created to be visually stimulated, and
he sees a woman in revealing clothing, his brain sends chemicals
throughout his body, he may notice a change in his pulse, his
body temperature will rise and blood will begin to pump more
rapidly through his body. For guys this is an arousal process and
it is very strong. It presents clear physical changes. Yes, a guy
can choose how to respond to this arousal, but he cannot control
that it has occurred.
An important point here is that even Christian girls with
skirts or tops which are too-short, too-tight, or too-low, can
cause their Christian brothers to stumble. Immodesty creates
arousal in many men and it misses the mark of God's intended
purpose for you.
Philippians 3:14 says, "I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus". The New
Testament word for sin is "hamartia" which means, "To miss the
mark and so not share in the prize." Because immodesty creates
arousal in many men, it misses the mark of God's intended
purpose. Immodesty is not just fashion, it is sin!
The Allure
Showing Less - Controls More
The Gestalt Theory teaches that our brains force the person
to mentally complete a visual image, thereby controlling a
viewer's time. The brain is intrigued by completing the
incomplete and will always pause to finish an unfinished picture.
When a guy sees a girl walk by him wearing a long, tight skirt
with a slit all the way up the sides, what does he see? The slit
invites him to finish the picture: to see past the fabric. So,
what is yet to be seen is what actually tempts him. Showing the
curve of your hips under a tight skirt, or a little bit of your
belly, etc... can actually be devastating to a guy who wants to
please Christ. It can be a constant source of spiritual failure
for men. I repeat: these temptations can be a constant source of
spiritual failure for men! You are inviting him to lust after
you.
Perceived Value Increases Worth!
This principle explains that immodesty removes the obstacles
and invites any passing guy to desire you in his mind. For him,
it is a cheap thrill that requires no investment on his part.
Modesty on the other hand protects the true secrets of your body
for one man and requires him to invest into your life in order to
one day enjoy your allure. He must earn your virtue, it is a
thing of value - something to be worked for and earned, not
something to be carelessly tossed about. Finding love this way is
a long and slow process, but that is part of what makes it so
sweet; he must work to earn your heart. When it comes to true
love men consistently state that they want the modest, pure girl.
What makes a woman's perceived value high? When she has protected
her reputation and her sexuality, her perceived value is high.
The temporary attention immodesty may gain can never equal the
thrill of passion that follows a life protected by the power of
modesty.
So we pose the question to women everywhere: "Do you want
guys to just get a cheap thrill in their minds, or do you want to
be romantically and passionately pursued because your modesty
demands it?" When a guy with true interest in a woman perceives
that her purity and reputation have been protected, he will rise
to romance her and earn her heart. A point to recognize is that
modesty is the first line of defense for purity. When you see a
young woman showing too much, fear for her; she may be
unwittingly making herself vulnerable for the wrong kind of
attention. Immodesty makes a statement about one's moral values.
The Inner Quality
The Bible challenges women to be careful about inner
modesty. It says that the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet
spirit is in God's eyes a thing of great price. It says that
women's beauty should not come from outward adorning such as
braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.
No, the power of modesty is not limited just to what one wears;
modesty is also controlled, or forfeited, by where a woman is
willing to go and how a woman may act. Modesty finds no need to
flaunt or flirt around guys or to invade their personal space. A
woman's external presentation is the first indication of her
modesty, but if it is not followed by the confidence of internal
modesty, she shall forfeit the power of her virtue. Remember, it
is true that an immodest woman creates insatiable curiosity in a
guy, but it is the modest girl whose heart he most desires.
What do you think modesty looks like? Mrs. Gresh suggests
that perhaps it is seen in the woman who doesn't hang all over a
guy but acknowledges them nonchalantly, or in the woman whose
morning dress routine helps her to reflect God's beauty. Internal
modesty is seen in the woman whose conversation revolves more
around other people than herself; one who is more focused on
pleasing the Lord than attracting a boyfriend. The woman who is
confident in her value has no reason to immodestly flaunt herself
but will confidently bless others when she is around.
The Bottom Line
Women, Mrs. Gresh is very honest and says that if you are
aggravated with this information or are planning to ignore it,
you may not have a modesty problem but a love problem. Modesty is
possible only if you truly love God, and when you truly love God,
you obey Him--even in the way that you dress. Knowing about God
is not the same as knowing Him. When you truly know Him, you
cannot help but love Him because you realize everything in His
plan for your life is for the purpose of blessing you. And when
you love Him, you want to please Him--even in the way you dress.
As daughters of the King of Kings, our appearance should honor
Him. We have the responsibility to dress as women professing
godliness. God desires to see you happy and He knows that the
best pathway to finding a truly blessed marriage requires you to
live modestly. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, whom
we have received from God and we are not our own, but are bought
with a price, the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and that is what
gives us value!
1 Dannah Gresh, "Secret Keeper - The Delicate Power of Modesty
(by MOODY PRESS.)
..........
From "ACTS" magazine - November/December 2011 - a publication of
The General Council Churches of God (Seventh Day), Maridian, ID.
USA.
..........
14. In Search of Absolute Truth
Jesus promised we can have it!
IN SEARCH OF ABSOLUTE TRUTH
It helps to ask how do we know what we know?
by Ray Straub
No culture, community, relationship, or person can retain
integrity or good health if truth is not safeguarded. Truth
builds and supports; corrupting it, destroys.
Information is absorbed incessantly through our five senses:
seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and feeling. Processing
information gives us ideas that are never exactly like those held
by anyone else. It is our personal responsibility to account for
what we conclude to be truthful.
This analysis will identify three major academic sources of
truth. While each uses its own approach in sorting facts, they
use each other's tools and methods in arriving at worthy
conclusions about what is. It is helpful to know their
contributions.
SCIENCE
Science is the search for truth through empirical evidence -
what we learn from experience. It is primarily a study of the
physical. The quality of information gained from occurrence and
analysis depends on how accurately our conclusions match reality.
Scientific discovery has provided unfathomable benefits in
efficiency, security, adventure, health, comfort, enjoyment, and
numerous other values. We benefit beyond our ability to
comprehend by truths discovered as we become increasingly
acquainted with what exists physically.
The challenge and nature of science is to continually
question, analyze, experiment with and otherwise investigate
established conclusions. Scientists do not think in terms of
absolutes; they continually ponder new possibilities.
No matter how meritorious and extensive the discoveries, it
remains that science is "an approximation to the essential nature
of all things" (Walter Kaufmann, Existentialism, p.243).
PHILOSOPHY
Wisdom and purpose are the underlying concerns of
philosophers, and they seek truth mainly through reasoning and
reflection. Philosophy attempts to determine how we should
perceive the world, treat fellow human beings, and adopt
attitudes that bring greater meaning to our existence. Its
curiosity goes beyond the physical, wondering about the soul,
emotions, religious ideas, and eternity.
Science and philosophy are not inherently opposed. Many
superior thinkers have offered appreciable advances in both
fields. An early Greek philosopher, Pythagoras, was an
outstanding renowned mathematician. He also introduced ideas
about the nature of the soul, further developed by Plato and
later religious writers. Aristotle defined logic in profound,
near mathematical precision, the syllogism being his basic
construction. His observations continue to be a benchmark in the
academic community, providing important criteria to determine the
validity of conclusions.
A downside to philosophical truth is its lack of endurance.
Philosophers reject each other's ideas regularly because many
arise from personal experiences and attitudes that slant
conclusions. They do not build on each other's discoveries as
consistently as do scientists.
It is important to note that the search for truth in both
science and philosophy begins with a hypothesis - an unproven
conclusion based on a combination of experience, intuition, and
imagination. It is an assertion that seeks to be confirmed
through experiment and/or reasoning.
Neither science nor philosophy thinks in terms of absolute
truth. Each has its axioms (i.e., self-evident assertions, like
"the shortest distance between two points is a straight line")
and postulates (i.e., obvious generalizations, like "humans are
emotional"). But there are few "truths" that science or
philosophy cannot continue to question.
RELIGION
The nature of religious truth, called dogma, differs from
scientific and philosophical conclusion in that it is accepted by
believers as absolute. Testing a hypothesis requires some faith
in process, evidence, accurate observation, and other factors. In
contrast, dogmas are accepted as truth by faith and survive with
or without empirical evidence or reasoning. They are subject to
occasional doubt, but that is the nature of faith. What is not
subject to doubt is not being retained by faith.
John's Gospel describes the contrasting nature of a dogma:
"And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not
comprehend it" (John 1:5).
The Greek word from which comprehend is translated has more
assertive synonyms.
New International Version: "darkness has not understood it."
The New English Bible: "darkness has never quenched it." Greek
English Interlinear: "darkness it not overtook," restated:
"darkness did not overtake the light." The assurance is that
dogmas (biblical truths) are absolute, abide with believers, and
cannot be invalidated. Accepting dogmas as ultimate truth is more
than intellectual acknowledgment. Whether or not one can believe
is based on faith, a virtue possessed in varying quantities.
Everyone has some trust in family, friends, employers,
professionals, governments, and a host of other sources we take
for granted. The gift of faith is shown in the ability to believe
in what the anti-religious call the "mystical" - that which
cannot be experienced empirically nor proven conclusively through
reason.
Concerning origins, the contrast between science and
religion is stated in Hebrews 11:3: "By faith we understand that
the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen
was not made out of what was visible" (NIV).
This verse states a non-scientific dogma. Science deals with
matter; it insists that matter cannot come into being from
nothing. Science will never be able to explain with certainty how
the universe originated, because it cannot explain the origin of
matter. It can only give educated ideas of how what already
existed evolved. This doesn't undermine the value of science; it
only identifies an issue beyond its purview. Creation by
Intelligent Design is a dogma accepted by faith and enjoys good
reasons to support it.
Dogma and divine authority
Not everyone has the gift of faith. Those who do not have
this precious gift lack the capacity to accept dogma, which is
why it is futile to argue God's existence with an atheist. Each
believer retains truths held in common with other people of
faith. Such dogmas, among others, include that God exists and is
the creator and sustainer of the universe; that He sent His Son
Jesus to live, die, and resurrect for our salvation; that God
saves those who diligently seek Him; that we should sincerely
love God and our neighbor; that reward in an afterlife awaits
believers; and that the Bible contains information and teachings
that are accurate and adequate for us to gain salvation and
access to God through repentance, prayer, and worship.
Since faith maintains that these dogmas are absolute truth,
the believer protects and nourishes that belief vigorously. Faith
as a gift is capable of being enhanced and strengthened
as talented musicians and athletes constantly perfect their
skills through practice and use. Developing faith is built on a
living, dynamic, personal relationship with God. It communicates
through prayer, thought, biblical study, and worship of a
heavenly Father who loves, sustains, comforts, and meets the
needs of those who trust Him. This faith is demonstrated in a
life committed to love and respect for God's principles.
Institutional dogmas
All religious denominations hold a few unique dogmas that
distinguish them as organiza tions. These teachings may include
varying opinions about baptisms, the nature of the soul, the
rapture, the godhead, predestination, and numerous other
perceptions. Those settled in their hearts and minds on absolute
truths can debate without frustration many of these historic
disagreements, while growing in grace and understanding.
It is virtuous both to be settled in our own minds and to be
hospitable to the sincere ideas of friends and acquaintances.
Faith and logic
Recently a television host boasted, "I don't believe in any
imaginary higher power; I'm logical," followed with applause from
the small audience. This contrast reveals ignorance of both faith
and logic. They do not oppose each other. Logic has led superior
thinkers to faith in God, and people of faith should be
reasonable.
Concern for truth is an obligation we owe to all whom our
lives touch. Three fields have been identified that seek truth:
science, philosophy, and religion.
Each endeavor supports the others, and each has its
limitations. We must accept dogmas because God is pleased with
our faith (Hebrews 11:6). There is no need to be apologetic or
shy about professing and explaining them. They are truths that
endure.
......
Ray Straub, lifelong student of God's Word, writes from his home
in West Linn, OR.
From "The Bible Advocate" - October/November 2009 - a publication
of the Church of God, Seventh Day, Denver, CO. USA.
NOTE:
Jesus promised that when the Spirit came, after He ascended back
to heaven, it would lead and guide into ALL truth (John 16:13).
Jesus did not say we would find all truth at one specific time;
sometimes God gives us truth at different times; that is His
perogative. We have to be content with knowing and believing that
if we hunger and thirst after righteousness, the Spirit of the
Lord will lead us into all truth. Jesus further stated in John
17, that "Thy word is truth" - God's word is truth. We need to
fully realize and know that if we desire truth, if we do as the
Bereans did (Acts 17) and search the Scriptures daily, if we
truly want with all our heart to know the truth of the matter on
any topic (especially those for salvation), and we search for it
in and throughout God's word, WE SHALL FIND IT! Yes, it is just
that simple friends. We can come to know ABSOLUTE TRUTH. God's
WORD is truth, and if we do our part, we can KNOW the promise of
the Spirit leading us into all truth, is a promise the Eternal
One cannot break. It may take some time, it may take some
searching, but theological truth can be assertained. This Website
is dedicated to the restitution of all truths of the Lord.
This one included!
Keith Hunt
14. Personality Clashes!
How to un-clash them
PERSONALITY CLASHES
DO EXIST WITHIN THE CHURCH. THEY CAN BE BETWEEN ANY TWO PERSONS.
SATAN CAN USE PERSONALITY CLASHES TO UNDO LOVE AND HARMONY - HE
CAN USE IT TO SPLIT OR DESTROY ANY GROUP OF CHRISTIANS. IN THIS
ARTICLE YOU WILL BE SHOWN HOW TO OVERCOME THIS FIERY DART OF THE
ADVERSARY.
by
Keith Hunt
You are a unique person. There has never been a person quite
like you before - Yes, there may be a look-a-like. You've no
doubt heard about the "look alike" contests for the famous
entertainment "stars". Some are quite remarkable and a few I saw
on TV on one of those interview shows said people on the street
will not believe they are not the real film star or singer that
everyone knows.
There are the "identical twins" - twins that look so much
alike it is very difficult to tell them apart. These identical
twins do often have the same likes, abilities, talents, and often
show an uncanny mental telepathy between themselves. Yet, they
are not 100%, exactly the same.
The one difference we all have, besides our finger prints,
is - we ALL have our own distinct PERSONALITY!
Your personality is made up of many varying parts. It
includes all that makes you - YOU. It contains your talents, your
likes, your feelings, your very thoughts, and everything that
just makes you "tick" as they say.
Now your personality can be shaped by your environment - the
cultural ideology you were raised in. Your personality can be
shaped by the way your parents influenced you, or other close
relatives or friends. The type of school you attended may have
helped mould your personality. Certain clubs you joined as a
growing child may have influenced the personality you became as
an adult. There are many things that can determine what
personality you will be, even heredity plays a part. But the
bottom line is that you are an individual, different from any
other individual with a unique personality.
TURN BACK THE PAGES
Think back now to when you were a pre-schooler, possibly
when you were in kindergarten or just playing with neighborhood
friends. Were there some kids you simply did not get along with -
you just plainly did not like them? There sure was! There was
that "nasty" little Sam or Sue.
There may have been those "pests" from around the corner who
disturbed everyone. Or there was that Jimmy who would love to
trip you up if he got the opportunity. And on it goes - kids you
just did not get along with for one reason or another.
Now think about your years in grade school. Did you just
love the school bully? Or that boy (if you are a girl reading
this) who kept pulling your hair? There may have been a kid that
was always putting his foot in his mouth with stupid remarks
about you, and you would have loved to put your foot in his
mouth. Did you get along with the school prankster - the one who
tied your shoe laces together when you weren't looking?
How about the time spent in High school. Was there no one
that you didn't have problems with? Someone you wished was going
to another High School than the one you attended.
After entering the adult world you probably did not "hit it
off" with everyone you met. There was I'm sure some individual
that you wished was not in your life. Someone you did not see
"eye to eye" with. You did not like their views on politics, or
entertainment, on religion, or fashion etc. You just hoped they
would move away to another place of work or another town.
You didn't get along with these individuals because of your
distinct personality which was at variance in some way with their
distinct personality. Personalities manifesting themselves as
shaped by natural heredity and environmental influences.
Personality clashes - a common occurrence in our societies
and nations. Most think little about it - most learn to live with
it as a part of this life, but when.....
YOU BECOME A CHRISTIAN.......
All that is supposed to change is it not? Are we not as
Christians to love each other, have no jealousies, animosities,
strife, dislikes, and personality clashes? Yes, that is true, but
the truth is we do not become PERFECT when we become a Christian
and receive the Spirit of God. Our carnal nature does not
disappear with the wave of a hand, and a "be gone with you"
command. At the time we receive God's Spirit there is still a
great dose of carnality within us. Because of this fact, many are
shocked when they come into the Church of God, to discover that
personality clashes can and often do - exist.
We are all growing at different rates, and we all have
varying degrees of carnality to overcome, depending on what we
came out of as far as how our personalities were shaped by our
heredity and environment. We can in time, overcome most of our
obvious bad personality traits such as bad temper, unbecoming
speech, wrong ideas based on the "way that seems right unto man"
and others. These can be put aside as we put on the new man that
is being created by Christ living in us.
Most of our personality clashes come about because of the
"open" - easy to see areas in our personality that are still "the
works of the flesh" such as the ones I've mentioned above. But
there is a more sinister and harder to recognize problem, yet
maybe not so hard to recognize as knowing how to overcome a
personality clash.
Have you ever attended a meeting, perhaps a regional or
national company meeting, where many of your peers are there that
you have never met before? Within a few hours you have found one
or two individuals that you prefer to "stay away" from. You do
not really know them, you have not talked to them at any length
to really find what "makes them tick". There is just something
about them that irks you - something that "gets your goat" -
something that "rubs you the wrong way" so you would prefer to
leave them alone and not be around them.
Usually this reaction is not precipitated by the LARGE
personality faults we have mentioned before, but very small
incidents in fact, yet to us, to our mind, they are large -
uncomfortable - and very threatening to our peace and
tranquillity of mind. So we "shy away" from that person, hoping
we never have to spend very long in close encounters with them.
We delude ourselves into thinking that if we ignore the problem
it will go away, or that it does not really exist at all, when
deep down we know there is a problem. If we are willing to admit
that there is a difficulty between us and this other person, we
would be able to see that part of the problem is within
ourselves. It is our pre-conceived ideas and thoughts about this
person that is partly to blame, as well as some of our own
prejudice and unfairness.
Oh yes, the "works of the flesh" are still at work, even in
this instance, but they are the works of the flesh that are more
cunning and clandestine. So it can be harder to OVERCOME. But
such personality clashes can be overcome. For the Christian they
must be overcome. We must admit it is there(if indeed it is) and
ask God to help us do our part in solving the problem.
Twice in my life(to the present writing of this article) I
have found myself in the subtle type of personality clash that
I've talked about above. I want to tell you about them and the
way they were overcome.
REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES
I was 19 when I first heard the voices of Herbert W.
Armstrong and his son Garner Ted over the radio air waves - it
was the fall of 1961. Soon I was reading every piece of
literature the then Radio Church of God would send me. After the
initial SHOCK of discovering that some of my cherished Christian
beliefs that I had, from my years of church attendance, were not
to be found in the Bible(like going to heaven when you die), I
became like a starving lion - devouring the Bible with night and
day study to find more truths. Soon I was getting strange glances
from my friends in the Baptist church I attended - they knew who
I was listening to on the radio. After some months I knew I
could not continue attending a Sunday keeping Church(my Baptist
landlord had told me to my utter shock that Sunday was not the
7th day of the week), I was alone - there was no one who was
close to believing as I now did. It felt strange, was I the only
one who could see these basic truths that this father and son
were preaching I often thought.
One day by luck or chance(probably neither but from God) I
met a lady (a married lady - about 5 years older than me) who
also was believing as I was. What a joy - what a blessing - what
a delight - what a conversation we had. There was no personality
clash here.
Then, some time later(a year or more) came the first meeting
with a minister from the Radio Church of God (later to be called
the Worldwide Church of God) - it was a Bible study and baptism
meeting. I was there along with some others.
I now knew about 10 more persons whom I could fellowship
with. There was Peter and his wife Nomi, there was George and
Rose his wife (farmers from not to far out of town), there was Al
and Josephine, Jim and June, and a few single guys like me. We
all immediately got along well - no personality clashes.
Then there was Don - a man about 20 years older than myself,
a somewhat quiet and reserved man. He had more experience than I
had in this world, a middle income man with a wife but no
children. I found it hard to talk to him, so I didn't most of the
time. Our personalities were different. At that time in my life
(now I look back) I was burning with enthusiasm for the truths I
was discovering, and being somewhat vociferous, I probably said
too much, too often, and without any "tack". I remember one day
while visiting with Al and Josephine(whom I got along with like a
house on fire) there was a knock at the door - it was Don. As we
were all fellowshipping, the topic of MASONS came up. I had read
the booklet about Masons from the WCG., and as I remember now,
blurted out in a thoughtless manner that the Masonic Lodge was
another of Satan's tools. Don was a Mason and had never read the
booklet. If we didn't have a personality clash before (which we
did) - we sure had one now.
Don did eventually read that booklet on the Masons and did
drop out from belonging to that Lodge, but the personality clash
between us continued. Neither of us had ever been openly nasty to
each other - we had never had an argument. Our personalities at
that time, as newly baptized persons, just didn't "jive"
together. You couldn't put your finger on the specific problem
between us. I'm sure the problem was much more than just that
"Masonic Lodge" incident.
It was some time later (when we had our first local minister
sent to us to establish a church) that I was to discover or face
the problem head on. We had just never tried to understand or
even get to know each other - we had never made an effort to
befriend each other.
A year or more went by, and now we had a minister and the
church was growing, many more couples and singles coming to
services. I was in the Spokesman Club and so was Don. Then
another close friend of mine and I were chosen to be song leaders
in services, we took turns - he one week and me the next week.
Then I was chosen as librarian for the church (I think I had the
reputation of being a "book worm"). All of this and all of this
growth, with no serious personality clashes except with Don - it
was still an arms length relationship that we had.
ANOTHER PERSONALITY CLASH
Then entered George, a younger married man, about my age. He
was a "musician" as I was. Some of the other fellows in the
church also played various musical instruments. We would often
get together to "jam."
The minister liked to have one or two "fun nights" for the
church every year. Now the congregation was nearing 200. I was
chosen to be in charge of the fun program. I was to organize the
music and talent skits etc. making sure they were in "good"
taste. Well, George and I didn't hit it off on the music side of
things. Again there was no arguing between us, just a kind of
"cold war" that we both endured.
I was not sure if he just did not like the way I did things,
or if he just did not think I was a good musician. Whatever it
was, it gave us a personality clash. Now I had TWO people I had
serious "unspoken" clashes with. I knew it was there and I knew
they knew it was there.
Our local minister was a wise man. He knew that with a
congregation of about 200 and increasing, there had to be some
personality clashes. I found out later there were more problems
along this line than just what existed between Don, George, and
I. So the minister, from time to time, would bring sermons along
the lines of down to earth Christian living - how to get along
with each other, how to appreciate and serve each other, how to
understand each other, and a whole lot of plain practical
suggestions as to what we could do to alleviate personality
clashes among ourselves. Those sermons hit home. I had been
trying to run from the problem that existed between Don and
George and I. If I wasn't running from it I was turning a blind
eye to it. Now I faced up to the problem and admitted to myself
that it was very real and determined to do something about it.
Upon examining the situation I realized that I had never
really acknowledged that these two men(Don and George) had their
God giver talents and abilities. I had never tried to understand
them, or listen to what they had to say. I made very little
effort to get to KNOW them and never invited them over to my home
for an evenings visit, or gave them the chance to open up to me.
I did not make any real effort to be "their friend."
I made a decision to change all that. It was not easy the
first time to ask them to come over for dinner and fellowship. I
was apprehensive that they would refuse, but they did not. Within
a few private visits with these two men (individual - one on one
visits) I was to see great changes between us. I'm sure they were
also trying to act upon the sermons we had all heard. Our
understanding of each other grew and grew. Our appreciation of
each others talents and abilities within the body of Christ grew.
We were kind and thoughtful to each other from that time on. I
got along with everyone in that local church, some I was closer
to than others because of age and outside interests, but these
two men - Don and George - with whom I had for so long a time
this personality clash, became two of the closest friends I had
in that congregation
That first WCG church that I was a founding member of,
became known as one of the warmest, friendliest, and loving
congregations in that part of the country. The minister at that
time must take a large part of the credit for guiding us, and
helping us get to the nuts and bolts in overcoming not only sins
in general but also that little spoken about problem of
PERSONALITY CLASHES.
If you have a personality clash with someone, I hope you
will admit you do. Possibly this article will help you decide to
do something about it. I hope relating my personal experiences
along these lines will have shown you how to go about solving
"personality clashes." They do exist, but with love and a
determined effort, and the Spirit of God they can be - OVERCOME.
..............
Written in 1991
15. Community Serving
Ways to serve others
A Servant of God in the Community
by Craig Moore
The importance of a community in the lives of the people
living in it, is never disputed ... just overlooked. The
community can change a person's outlook on life, their
personality, their beliefs, or their political (views). How is
this? By someone, taking initiative and being a beacon to their
community through a variety of different ways. One of the most
prevalent ways is to do community service. In this, you are
both giving back to your community and making it a better place.
Giving back to your community will be one of the most
rewarding times you will have on a Sunday afternoon or summer
evening. Not only will you feel good about yourself, you will be
able to watch the difference you're making in a person's life,
firsthand, as their happiness, hope, and friendliness, soar. The
Bible says in Galatians 6:8, "For he that soweth to his flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the
Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting:" I think this
could easily be applied to our daily lives and sowing good seeds
in others. You reap what you sow in others as well.
Little Things, Big Impact, Long-term Results
When someone thinks of community service, normally a large
undertaking with a lot of organization and work comes to mind.
However, one of the most important ways to serve your community
is in the minor things. If someone elderly lives next to you,
offer to mow their yard at the same time you mow your own. It may
only take a few minutes, but the impact of that service can be
monumental in that person's life. While you go about your daily
life, try to think of ways that you can be a servant to your
community, every week. In the winter, you could sweep driveways
and in the fall, rake leaves. Every, season has a small task that
you could do for someone else.
These small tasks do not take up much time, but they do a
world of good and will end up changing the lives of the people
that you do them for. Just a little bit of sugar turns the bitter
to sweet. And that is what we I need to be in the lives of our
neighbors and community: a little bit of sugar. As we show them
Christ in us, God will work on their hearts and change baking
powder, baking soda, butter, flour, and eggs into tasty cookies
that everyone will enjoy.
Big Things, Big Impact, Short-term Results
The large community service projects are not less
important, but have less impact, because it comes of necessity,
and necessity is not always present. Otherwise, it serves the
same purpose and should be considered when thinking of community
service. Disasters bring about the necessity for volunteers and
help people to bond with one another. They also get a lot of
recognition from the members of the community. This helps
publicize that you are getting out and helping the community and
will encourage others to get out there as well.
Natural disasters only occur once in a great while, so only
serving at these times, will not make a long-term change in
people's, lives. Look at 9/11 and the impact it had on our
Nation. For three months, people were helping other people, going
to church, and being good neighbors to one another. But in just a
few short months, everything went back to 'normal'; people
stopped helping the way they did following 911. To truly make a
lasting impact, you need to have a constant effect on them.
Other Ways
You can give more than just your time and energy; you can
also give knowledge or resources. Sometimes, all at once, or
someone that doesn't have a lawn mower would probably appreciate
you lending them yours for an hour or so a week. Or if someone's
car won't start, you could give them a jump, or a lift to where
they need to go. Your neighbors will enjoy having you in their
community and will in turn be more inclined to help you or
someone else out when the opportunity arises.
The little things, not the big things, are what cause the
change in people. Ask a handful of believers that came to Christ
late in life, and chances are it wasn't because of "The Passion
of the Christ," Billy Graham, or Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven
Life." Though they may have played a part, someone first invited
them to watch, listen, or read, those listed above that made the
impact.
These ideas are in no way exhaustive of everything you can
do to make a difference in your community and give back a little
something. They are only a few of my thoughts of ways that we can
use our talents and abilities in our community. Each of us is
unique and so have different ways that we can contribute. Look at
what you are able to do and then employ those talents and
abilities into changing your backyard. Who knows? You may change
the world by just changing one person.
I would like to challenge each person that reads this
article to try and make a difference in their community by
searching out some thing they can do for someone else at least
once a month. Have your spouse and friends keep you accountable
to make sure you do it. Challenge others to make some sort of
community service a part of their lives. We can make a
difference!
.................
Craig Moore is a staff writer for Ten Business Solutions and is
the Academic Advisor for Maranatha College. He and his wife,
Erin, currently live in Rogersville, Missouri.
ACTS magazine June 2007, a publication of the Churches of God,
7th Day, Meridian, ID, USA.
16. Simple Christianity
Pretty basic in many ways
by
Keith Hunt
Volumes of books, pages of articles and study papers, have
been written for centuries, concerning the doctrines and theology
of the "Christian" religion. To be sure, it has often been
necessary to do so, as the foundational truths of the Lord found
in the Bible have been perverted and twisted out of all plain
recognition, through the process of time and compromise, together
with either deceived minds or deliberate false prophets,
sometimes both.
I, myself, have spent countless hours in study, research,
and writing, on various Biblical topics over the last 20 years
plus.
My articles and study papers have now reached over the 300
mark. Altogether those writings amount to about 3,000 pages, or
more. My KJV Old Testament contains 802 pages, while the New
Testament has 258 pages, both with a center reference column.
So, what's the big deal? You could write 10,000 pages or
20,000 pages, or more, and NOTHING man could write will ever
compare or be in the same league with the inspired Holy Bible.
I simply mention all this to draw the readers mind to this
short article and its title. Many have, for various reasons, made
Christianity, or one section of Christianity, into a huge
complicated theology, when in fact it is VERY SIMPLE! No big
degree or theological seminary training is needed. Just a child
like belief and simple pure mind to read the four Gospels and the
teachings of Jesus, and then to ACT upon them, as you live your
daily life within the context of other human beings.
A lawyer once came to Jesus and asked Him which was the
GREATEST commandment. Christ said to him, "How do YOU read the
law?" He answered by saying that the greatest commandment was to
"love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
mind, and with all your soul." And, Jesus said he was indeed
correct and not far from the Kingdom of God. He went on to say
the second greatest commandment was to love your neighbor as
yourself.
But, there was some unclear understanding as to WHO was our
neighbor, and they wanted Jesus to tell them the truth of the
matter on that point. So He did. Most know the famous parable He
gave - the parable of the "good Samaritan." Now, the Jews had
big mental problems with any person from anywhere but their own
little "jewish" seat of race and/or (often both) theology. The
Samaritans they especially hated, mainly because of their
religious position which they held. The Jews in the main, well at
least the ones influenced by the Pharisees, had nothing to do
with the Samaritans. In the parable Jesus gave of how some of
the Jews passed by the man visibly needing help, who lay battered
and bleeding on the side of the road, and how it was a Samaritan
man who came to his aid, it was obvious what the teaching was all
about.
Jesus was showing that there are times when what is needed
is just to simply help anyone who needs the help. No questions
asked, no thought of or question such as: What religious faith do
you hold? What Christian denomination do you belong to? What
political party are you a member of? What ideology do you
believe and proclaim? What race do you belong to? And many
other such questions that could divide people into different
camps of society.
Christ, in the parable of the "good Samaritan" was teaching
everyone that to obey the second greatest commandment, is to even
serve and help, when it is genuinely needed, those whom some
would claim are your enemy, not deserving of any help under
any circumstance. The parable emphasizes literal good deeds and
works towards anyone in need. On other occasions Jesus taught
that we should mentally love our enemies, not only "doing good"
to them, but also praying for them. He taught we should
do unto others as we ourselves would like others to do unto us.
He taught that if we only did good to those who did good to us,
what could that do for us, because even sinners did the same to
each other. In pretty simple words Christ Jesus taught that
people should go the "extra mile" - go above and beyond the call
of what was commanded of them. In fact He taught that if we only
did what was commanded of us we were unprofitable servants, and
all such servants would eventually be cast out into outer
darkness (see Luke 17:10 with Mat. 25:14-30).
There really is no way around such plain talk and simple
parables that Jesus gave at times concerning living the second
great commandment - loving your neighbor.
If we were to look around at the world scene of today, to
look for someone that we could hold up as an example for others
in obeying and living this Christian simplicity, of following
this one side of the two sided coin that represents true
Christianity, we would not have to go beyond the example of
Mother Teresa.
We in the Church of God need to cast away any "theological"
proudness or swell-headedness we may have run through our
enlightened minds, by declaring, "but, she was not a part of the
TRUE church of God." Jesus made it clear that there is a lot
more to being a true Christian than just "correct doctrine." In
fact it is quite possible to have ALL the correct "doctrine"
mentally, and still not be a really true Christian. Paul was
inspired to write, "knowledge puffs up, but love edifies."
Having just correct doctrinal knowledge ain't my friends(using
some popular language slang) going to get you into the Kingdom
of God, if you do not have genuine practical love, concern, and
compassion for others. Certainly I am not trying to put down
correct doctrine, it is important and does have its place. I'm
only saying that it is not the "end of the matter" in and of
itself. True Christianity has more than one side to its gold
nugget.
Let me share with you a short message by Whaid Guscott Rose
that appeared in the October 1997 Bible Advocate, published by
the Church of God (Seventh Day) out of Denver, Colorado, USA.
Quote:
" In Scripture, God is always on the side of the poor and
the oppressed. In the economy of Israel, provision was
consistently made for meeting the needs of the less fortunate. A
special promise is made for those who spend themselves on behalf
of the poor (Isaiah 58:10-12). Jesus came to earth in a lowly
manger. During His inauguration to public ministry, He defined
His mission as preaching the gospel to the poor.
But even more important, Jesus defined authentic
Christianity in terms of our willingness to respond to the needs
of the hungry, the naked, and the imprisoned (Matthew 25). The
gospel of Jesus is a gospel for the poor, and few in this world
preach it - indeed, lived it - like Mother Teresa of Calcutta,
India.
But how do you tell a hungry man about the Bread of Life?
How do you tell a thirsty man about the living waters of the
Lord? The answer: You begin by meeting their most basic human
needs for food, shelter, and love. That's what Jesus did, and
that's one of the reasons the crowds followed Him. That's what
Mother teresa did, and that's one of the reasons the world loved
her.
She was a native of Albania and was in her late teens when
she first went to India. After studying nursing, Mother Teresa
moved to the slums in obedience to a call from God to spend her
life serving the poorest of the poor. It was there she opened her
first leper colony and subsequently founded the Order of the
Missionaries of Charity through which she served the rejects of
society and advocated a cause of the world's less fortunate -
from the hungry in India to those dying of AIDS in New York City.
The timing of Mother Teresa's death (in the midst of
worldwide grief over the death of Britain's Princess Diana) calls
us to consider the difference between service to humanity
rendered out of the need for self-assertion and what is done for
others out of self-sacrifice.
For example, when the pope gave Mother Teresa a limousine to
assist in her travels, she quickly sold it and gave the money to
feed the poor. When awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, she used all
the funds in her work. She even convinced the peace prize
commission to cancel the lavish dinner usually given for prize
recipients and instead to donate all the would-be dinner expenses
to feed the hungry.
Among the vows each of Mother Teresa's missionaries is
required to take is the vow of poverty. Her life and work gave
her the respect of governments and nations, yet she slept on a
concrete floor so she could continually identify with the lowest
of the low. Mother Teresa was the epitome of servanthood. I am
told by one closely associated with her work that her dying words
were 'Jesus, I love You.'
Jesus transformed His society by daring to love, touch, and
meet the needs of the poor. Mother Teresa dared to do the same
thing and has inspired us all. But the scripture calls us beyond
mere inspiration; it dares us to love as Jesus loved and to give
of ourselves as Mother Teresa did. For as one songwriter has
written, the kingdom begins where you give your life away,
expecting nothing in return.
The crucial question is, Will you? "
End of quote and message from BA.
Perhaps too many in the "more truth than anyone" Sabbath
keeping Churches of God, will pay little attention to the life
and death of Mother Teresa, for, some will say: She was not a
Seventh day Sabbath keeper, and not a part of the Church of God,
why she was a "Roman Catholic" and part of the whore of the book
of Revelation." Maybe there is some truth to that statement, but
look, it is written it is the Spirit that leads into all truth.
If God in His mercy had not revealed to YOU and to ME the truth
of the Sabbath and other things contained in His word, then you
and I would still be a part of this deceived world, worshipping
God (if we were religious minded) in our sincere but false ways.
Even as we once were, did this mean we could not read the Bible
and see certain truths within its pages. I mean, if anyone can
read, surely it does not take some University degree to see the
New Testament clearly teaches we should love and care for and
show compassion upon all men, especially those who in the
majority of cases simply find themselves in circumstances beyond
their control. Let's remember it could have been us who were born
into the less blessed and even the poorest of the poor of this
world.
So Mother Teresa did not have all the fine technical
knowledge that many of us are fortunate to have, and often feel
"smug" about. But she had a part of Christianity, lived a part of
Christianity, that is absolutely ESSENTIAL to exhibit in attitude
and also in deeds, if we are to enter into eternal life. I do not
mean we should all sell everything we have, leave our jobs,
families, homes, and lands, and take off to some down-drodden,
slum-dwelling, starving and poorly clad people in distant
countries, to all become more Mother Teresa's. God, may call SOME
to do the kind of work Mother Teresa did. There are different
callings to different functions in this physical life by the
Lord. Some may be called to become Billion-aires and then give
away to charities and humanity causes ten billion dollars as Ted
Turner recently has done, some are called to do and be other
things in this life. Yet the point is, that no matter what our
calling, our abilities, our talents, our fame, or lack of fame in
this life, we can all within our sphere and means in our
societies, love, give, and show compassion to those less
fortunate than ourselves. And it does not always have to be
shown in physical material ways. Just taking time, sharing
loving words, visiting, encouraging, maybe holding someone by the
hand or in your arms, perhaps sending a card or a letter. There
are dozens of ways to be and to do some of the Christianity that
Mother Teresa performed in her dedicated life.
Regardless of the church denomination Mother Teresa was a
member of, forget about it, for one day she will rise in a
resurrection and be given ALL truth, and probably be easier to
teach those truths she was not given in her first life, than many
of us have been willing to learn them, because she did live that
part of true Christianity that is simple to understand. So with
that, I recommend to you all that sometime in the not too far
distant future of your life, you buy, borrow, or visit your local
Library, and read about the life and service of this outstanding
modern example of selfless, loving, and giving person.
Thank you Mother Teresa for answering the calling that God
called you to do. Many in great need were made a little more
comfortable in body and spirit because of your love and service.
Your memory and work will continue until the restitution of all
things has come, when all will then dwell under their own vine
and nothing will make them afraid.
God speed that day!
...................
Written November 1997
17. Grumbling and Complaining
They can be deadly sins!
GRUMBLING AND COMPLAINING
"Now the people became like those who complain about adversity in
the hearing of the Lord, and when the Lord heard it, His anger
was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and
consumed some of the outskirts of the camp" (Numbers 11: 1-2).
Grumbling and complaining is one thing we don't get too
concerned about these days. I mean everybody grumbles about
something, right? Husbands and wives complain about each other.
Kids tell each other how terrible their folks are. Christians
grumble about one another - even about their leaders!
The nation of Israel had a long history of grumbling and
complaining. You can read about the misery it brought them in the
first five books of the Old Testament. I have to confess, for a
long time I didn't like those five books because I thought they
were full of The Law. God's wrath could be pretty terrible.
Sometimes He sent plagues or fire from heaven. In Numbers 16, you
read about the "rebellion of Korah" when the ground opened up and
250 people who complained against Moses and the Lord were
swallowed alive. That's heavy!
Now the New Testament - that seemed easy in comparison! We
were given a new law to keep. The law of love and liberty. As a
new Christian, I heard nothing but "love, grace, forgiveness, and
mercy" which was great because without them I'd be dead as a
doornail! Yet I kept running across scriptures in the New
Testament that really turned my head around. Jesus also made some
strong statements about obeying the laws of God.
In Matthew, Jesus rebuked the people of three cities where
He'd taught and performed many miracles. He wasn't exactly trying
to win a popularity contest when He said: "Woe to you... For if
the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in
you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes...
(And) if the miracles had occurred in Sodom that occurred in you,
it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless, I say to you
that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day
of judgment than for you" (Matthew 11:21-24). In other words, "If
I don't judge you in light of all you know, I'm going to have to
apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!"
I'm not pointing out these scriptures to say, "You'd better
listen or God's gonna get ya." That's not God's heart. He is
"slow to anger, full of lovingkindness and compassion" (Psalm
145:8). What I am saying is that those who live under the old
Covenant may have had a harsher requirement - but they'll have an
easier judgment than we who live under the New Covenant. Why is
that?
During the Old Covenant, the Spirit of God only came to rest
upon people, empowering them to do mighty deeds. But it never
lived in them to help them fulfil the law. Today, under the law
of love and liberty, the Holy Spirit lives in us, to help us keep
the law. James says, "be ye doers of the word and not hearers
only, deceiving your own selves ... But whoso looketh into the
perfect law of liberty and continueth therein ... this man shall
be blessed in his deed" (James 1:22,25 KJV).
I want to make this point strongly: Once God has led us out
of our old sinful lives by His Spirit, we must be careful not to
return.
I found an important warning sign while reading Old
Testament books like Numbers. This signal can tell you if you're
headed backwards where you're no longer led and controlled by the
Holy Spirit. No longer walking forward with God. It seems like a
little "insignificant" sin. In fact, some people don't think it's
a sin at all! I'm talking about grumbling and complaining.
Three Common Complaints
The reason I wanted to lay a solid foundation before looking
closer at the Israelite's complaining attitude is simple but
important. As I said, we think God isn't going to be as hard on
us as He was on them. "Hey, I'm under grace! God isn't keeping a
list of my sins. Especially not something like a little
complaining now and then!"
But the Israelite's wilderness journey exposes the attitudes
behind their complaints - some really serious sins! Let's look at
three complaints that will get us into big trouble. Be honest and
see if you find yourself in these accounts in Numbers.
#1 Complaints of the Flesh
Numbers 11 gives a concise picture of what God and Moses had
to put up with while trying to lead the people out of Egypt into
the Promised Land. "Now the people complained about their
hardships in the hearing of the Lord..." Not only did Moses have
to listen to their complaints, but the Lord heard all their
griping as well.
We often forget that the Lord hears everything we say. He
even knows everything we think! As David said: "Thou dost
understand my thought from afar... Even before there is a word on
my tongue, behold O Lord, Thou dost know it all" (Psalm 139:2,4).
You can't hide bad attitudes from God. It's better to get to
the root and deal with it. What was the root of their complaint?
The Israelites began craving food other than what the Lord was
providing. They wailed, "If only we had meat to eat? We
remember the fish we had in Egypt at no cost - also the
cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic." What breath they
must have had! We could call it Egypt Breath. "By now our
appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this
manna" (Numbers 11:46).
(Of course this was not true - the Israelites took with them from
Egypt their cattle etc. But their greed and complaint was they
did not have ENOUGH. Maybe the could only have meat once a week
or once a month for two or three days and they wanted it EVERY
DAY - Keith Hunt)
The root of their complaint was their flesh. They forgot
that they didn't deserve anything! God was giving them bread they
didn't even have to work for. It was free. All they had to do was
go and pick it up! But their ungrateful response was, "What?
Manna again? All we ever get is this crummy bread from heaven.
Wonderbread...ugh! We wanna go back to Egypt!"
The Bread of Life
Now don't judge these people too quickly. In John chapter
six of the New Testament, we find Jewish leaders complaining
about Jesus. Even His disciples were grumbling at His words. He
declared, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not
hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst ... Your
fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died... if
anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever" (John
6:35,49,51). After this, "many of His disciples withdrew, and
were not walking with Him anymore" (John 6:66).
A lot of people today pray the "sinner's prayer" found in
3rd Corinthians. They say, "Jesus, come into my heart. Be my
Savior. Amen." Then a few weeks later when the wife or the new
car they prayed for hasn't arrived on their doorstep, they start
looking back. They didn't realize the cross had two sides. The
death side and the resurrection side. Many people want their
resurrection right on the cross. Or worse, they want a padded
cross with a pillow and a sunlamp. One that's real comfortable.
No way. The cross hurts so they start thinking, "Gee, this peace
is not only passing understanding, it's passing notice! I don't
even see it? Where's my peace?!"
Pretty soon they're thinking, "I thought this would be a
joyful experience. Before I prayed to receive Jesus, I could have
anything I wanted - this is starting to be a drag!" Then they
complain to the Lord. "I know you're supposed to be the Bread of
Life, but I'm getting hungry for my old friends, my old ways, my
old life."
It's not that God doesn't have enough patience when we pray
complaining prayers. But sometimes He allows us to have exactly
what we've been praying for! Yes. God sometimes answers prayers
of the flesh. But I guarantee you won't like the results.
Be Careful How You Pray
The Israelites complained about manna and demanded meat and
the Lord told them He would give them meat to eat. Now I can hear
everyone saying, "Hey, complaining pays off! We ought to do it
more often!" The Lord said, "You shall eat not one day... but a
whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes
loathsome to you - because you have rejected the Lord, who is
among you..saying, 'Why did we ever leave Egypt?'" (Numbers
11:19-20).
The Lord, knowing their hearts, knew they'd rejected Him for
their appetites. So He gave them what they thought they wanted.
God sent a wind to bring quail in from the sea and they covered
the ground three feet deep for a day's walk in any direction.
Quail City! Not to mention the other ... you know ... the other
things that quail bring. It must have been quite an answer to
prayer! "And the people spent all day and all night and all the
nest day gathering the quail (he who gathered the least amount
gathered ten homers) and they spread them out for themselves..."
One homer equals 11 bushels so the person who gathered the
least, gathered 110 bushels - for himself! God's people - flesh
personified (verses 31-32).
"And while the meat was still between their teeth... the Lord
struck the people with a very severe plague. So the name of that
place was call Ki-brothhattaavah, because there they buried the
people who had been greedy" (verses 33-34). The name actually
means "the graves of greediness." God answered their complaining
prayer abundantly and they added insult to injury. There was no
praise, no thanksgiving, no trust, and no faith. Just greed.
Many, many people died in that plague.
Are you restless in your faith because you haven't seen an
answer to some important prayer? Have you been grumbling because
you've trusted God for a need you don't feel He's taken care of.
Have you been longing for the way things used to be? Have you
been ungrateful for what the Lord has given you?
Don't allow your flesh to win over your spirit, carrying you
into a dead faith - or worse, into outright rejection of the Lord
#2 Complaints of Jealousy
Numbers reveals another dangerous complaint that's buried in
each one of us like a ticking bomb. In Numbers 12:1 it says,
"Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite
woman whom he had married... " On the surface, their complaint
seemed to be about Moses choosing a non-Jewish wife. But we know
Moses was a praying man with a face-face relationship with God
and apparently God gave Moses the goahead to marry her. Actually,
Miriam and Aaron were judging Moses and - once they began to
gripe, their real complaint came out. In the very next verse they
said. "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken
through us as well?"
You don't have to dig too deep to see the sin of jealousy.
God had elevated Moses to a place of leadership, honor, and
respect. And his own brother and sister couldn't stand it! Their
complaint didn't come from physical appetite, like the people
demanding meat. They complained because of hungry egos!
Unfortunately egos didn't become extinct at the close of the Old
Testament. Some New Testament Christians like us, have New
Testament ego problems. By that I mean we sometimes get jealous
and complain against our brothers and sisters in the Lord. I've
seen this kind of jealousy between close friends who got involved
in ministry at the same time. One of them is put in a leadership
position and you'd expect the other one to be happy for him
because Paul says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice" (Romans
12:15).
But all too often the response is a bruised ego. Then the
grumbling starts. "Why does he get to lead the Bible study? I've
been a Christian longer than he has. I led him to the Lord! Last
night he took five minutes to find Haggai!"
Sadly, one reason we get jealous of Christian preachers,
teachers, or performers, is because we see others idolizing them.
We should be offended at that, but if some of us get honest,
we'll admit we want that kind of respect and admiration too.
Maybe you've never seen it this way, but sometimes we want to be
idolized.!
Jesus had to settle this problem among his 12 closest
friends the night before He was crucified. He'd already told them
He was about to die, and they were grieving, right? Wrong. The
week before they had watched Him hailed as King when He entered
Jerusalem and now they were arguing over who would be the
greatest in His Kingdom (Luke 22:24)! I would've gone out and
looked for 12 new disciples! But Jesus took a towel and a basin
of water, and washed their feet one by one, like a common
household servant. Then He said, "Do you know what 1 have done to
you? You call me teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so l
am. If I then ... washed your feet, you also ought to wash one
another s feet" (John 13:12-14).
Are you complaining because no one recognizes your gifts?
Are you picking at the flaws in leaders? Are you murmuring be
cause someone besides you is getting attention and praise?
Paul warned one group of Christians:
"But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be
consumed by one another" (Galatians 5:15).
Jealous complaining is like a destructive cancer. God
allowed Miriam and Aaron to feel the cancer-effect of their
complaints against Moses. In anger, the Lord struck Miriam with
leprosy - the cancer of that age (Numbers 12:10). Though He
cleansed her of the leprosy, she and Aaron were later forbidden
to enter the Promised Land "because of rebellion" (Numbers
20:24).
The message is clear. Sometimes our complaints come from
hungry egos we haven't surrendered to the Lord. If you've been
complaining because no one's recognizing your gifts, surrender
your ego to God before it becomes like a cancer, devouring your
brothers and sisters in Christ, and consuming your own spirit.
Your complete surrender will allow God to cleanse you. Then you
will be ready to take your position in His Kingdom.
#3 Complaints of Unbelief
In Numbers 13, we find that the complaints against Moses and
Aaron have really heated up. What's key for us is the way they
handled it.
At the Lord's command Moses chose 12 men to go spy out the
land of Canaan. He didn't send flunkies, but the leaders of the
tribes. Joshua and Caleb led them across the Jordan to see if the
land was fertile and how hard it would be to conquer. They
returned with a cluster of grapes so big it took two men to carry
it. They also returned with two different reports. Caleb was full
of faith. He said, "We should by all means go up and take
possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it" (verse 30).
But the other men who went with Joshua and Caleb "gave out to the
sons of Israel a bad report... saying, 'The land...devours its
inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of
great size,'" They dragged out some old wives' tale about a tribe
of giants called Nephilim and they said they were like mere
grasshoppers in comparison. They totally lost sight of God and
brought back a bad report about the Promised Land.
Well, one thing the Israelites knew how to do by now was
complain and they spent all night doing it.
By morning everyone was grumbling against Moses and Aaron.
They wanted to kill them, appoint a new, leader, and return to
Egypt. How stupid. Did they think God would open the Red Sea for
them again? Or that the Egyptians would be happy to see them
after they had drowned their whole army?
Anyway, the people went to kill Moses and Aaron and just
before the stones began to fly "the glory of the Lord appeared.
... to all the Israelites" (Numbers 14:10). God offers to take
care of the problem for Moses, saying, "I will smite them with
pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make YOU into a nation
greater and mightier than they" (verse 12). God was offering
Moses the same covenant He'd made with Abraham! This was Moses'
big chance!
But what did Moses do? He prayed for those complaining,
rebellious people! He said, "Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this
people according to the greatness of Thy lovingkindness, just as
Thou also hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now"
(verse 19). Moses did just what Jesus commands us to do when He
said, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is
in heaven... " (Matthew 5:44-45).
Remember Saul? Who do you think was praying far him on the
road to Damascus? Saul was the most vicious Christian-killer in
the land and the Christians were probably on their knees crying
out on his behalf. God made Saul into a new man with a new name.
And on the cross, when Jesus had been scourged, spat upon, and
deserted by His closest friends, He prayed, "Father forgive them,
for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).
There's a big difference between people who say they're
followers of Jesus and people who follow Jesus. Moses asked God
to forgive the people of Israel, and reminded Him of His
compassion. In other words, "This won't be good for Your glory or
fame throughout the world if you kill these people." Here's a man
unselfishly reasoning with God. Does God need to be reminded
about His nature? No. But God needs to be reminded we believe His
nature. God didn't strike the people dead, but Joshua and Caleb
were the only ones of that generation He let into the Promised
Land.
When you step out into the Wilderness of Faith, it's a one
way ticket. You either die in the wilderness, or you enter the
Promised Land. You can't go back to the world. Many people think
they can, but they're never the same. They are jaded, cynical,
sarcastic.
Some turn reprobate. I'm not talking about backsliding, I'm
talking about completely turning away from the Lord and denying
Him. They spiritually die out in the wilderness.
Let me ask you this: Are you willing to forgive those who
hurt you? Or do you complain, gossip, and backbite? Do you ask
God to "get them" or do you pray for mercy? Moses' prayer saved
the people of Israel from instant destruction. Our prayers can
change the hearts of our enemies. They can even change their
eternal destiny.
We can obey God, or act according to our flesh. The greatest
plan for victory over our enemies is prayer. Prayer shows our
belief in the mercy and power of God. If we reject God's Word, we
reject Him. When we complain about the one who has wronged us
instead of praying for him, we end up being the loser. Grumbling
and complaining is evidence of our unbelief in God's sovereignty
and His ability to work things out for His glory and our good.
In Closing
Let's take a "relationship inventory." Are you holding on to
hurts? Bitterness? Are you in competition, or a battle with
someone? Are you walking in unbelief? Maybe your flesh has opened
the door to an ungrateful spirit. Ask God's forgiveness for your
grumbling and complaining right now. He can soften your heart and
give you a spirit like His, willing to do battle in prayer - even
for your enemies.
Thank you Lord for giving us Your own Spirit which doesn't
only come upon us, but lives inside of us by Your Word. Lord
Jesus, help us to believe in You and in others. Help us give a
good report of all men and of all ministries. And Lord we ask
forgiveness for grumbling and murmuring and complaining because
we know You hate it. It's the greatest proof of our unbelief. God
we want to be believers, not just in word, but also in deed.
Spank us quickly if we murmur and complain before it grows into
the sin of Israel - and send Your blessing of believing faith
upon us. We love You Lord Jesus.
.................
This article was edited and paraphrased by David Hazard and
Melody Green from a teaching given by Keith Green in 1979.
"Grumbling and Complaining" was reprinted from an article in The
Last Days Magazine.
I Keith Hunt, have printed it from ACTS Magazine (March 1997), a
publication of the General Churches of God, Meridian, ID, USA
NOTE:
The sin of grumbling and complaining with people and church
organizations (that indeed may have left the straight and narrow
path) often takes its battle axe to the head. Instead of either
trying to bring truth and reform (which can often be hard to do
if not impossible some times) and finally walking away from a
"church" that has moved over to the wrong side of the tracks,
when reform is not possible; Many turn away from God and Jesus,
they allow grumbling and complaining to turn into bitterness and
anger, and walk away from serving God and continuing to love His
word. Thousands have done this - walking away from God, back into
the world, when the Worldwide Church of God went off the tracks
and into heresy and false doctrine. Many I have known and I
thought did have a personal relationship with the Lord, turned
out to be just a play act - no depth at all - no real conversion
to God, only to an organization, and when the organization and
many of the church leaders with it FELL BIG TIME INTO THE SNARES
OF THE DEVIL - THEY TURNED THEIR BACK ON GOD HIMSELF.
KEEP YOUR EYES ON GOD AND CHRIST AND THE BIBLE - NOT ON HUMAN
PERSONS, ONLY IN THIS WAY WILL YOU WALK WITH GOD, BE HIS CHILD
THAT HE LOVES AND CARES FOR AND WILL PUT YOU IN HIS KINGDOM!
BE A POSITIVE PERSON - GIVE PRAISES TO GOD - SING TO HIM - READ
HIS PSALM - GIVE HIM THANKS - REMEMBER YOUR BLESSING - TALK TO
HIM ANYTIME ABOUT ANYTHING. THIS WAY YOU WILL KEEP AT BAY THE
ARROWS OF SATAN THAT OFTEN COME IN THE FORM OF GRUMBLING AND
COMPLAINING.
Keith Hunt (October 2007
18. Salt of the Earth
True flavor of God
THE SALT OF THE EARTH
BY NELL STEVENSON
Have you ever considered what Jesus really meant when He
said to his disciples, "You are the salt of the earth",
(Mat.5:I3). Since he offers no explanation and they asked no
questions, we can assume that the meaning was clear. This message
is directed not only to these Israelite disciples of the tribe of
Benjamin but also to all those who have followed, including us.
For the most part it has been taken for granted that we all
know what is meant by "the salt of the earth"; you know, get
involved in all the various aspects of society and make your
influence felt to make the world a better place. This has almost
become accepted as Christian doctrine. Certainly it sounds very
scriptural. But is it?
Not too long ago I wrote an article about the world; not as
our planet home but as an orderly spiritual arrangement which
constitutes society. It is this world system that we are to
avoid. "Love not the world" is Christ's explicit command. "I have
chosen you out of the world" (Jn.15:18). Did we forget that Satan
is the god of the present world system?
How then can we justify the doctrine that encourages us to
mingle in with "the world" and get involved in social or
political action?
Now "the earth" is a totally different entity from the
world. "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof"
(1 Cor.10:26). This leaves no doubt that the ruler of the earth
and all that is in it is God. He has reminded us "My kingdom is
not of this world" and only He can usher in His kingdom at the
right time. We must then ask the question, "Does Christ expect us
to become part of this anti-Christ world system in order to help
Him bring His righteous kingdom to earth?"
Is it not true that when Christians go into the corrupt
world system of politics, economics, science or law as salt, to
flavour it for the Lord, they end up losing their saltiness bit
by bit? They must inevitably compromise their standards, take
bribes or fudge the truth so as not to lose their position with
the group. Integrity once eroded can never be retrieved. "If the
salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is
no longer good for anything" (Matt.5:13)
In our fervent ambition to spread the ideals of our faith we
have failed to learn an important lesson. History has proven time
and again that when we try to bring the church into the world,
the opposite eventually happens - the world comes into the
church. Is this not the reason that the gospel has been watered
down? To take away any offence that may be felt by using words
like sin, repent, abomination? To make it more palatable to the
world or society we mean to (salt) influence? Is this not why the
standards of the people of God are now mingled with the standards
of the world? It seems that in order to retain our saltiness or
savour, we must keep ourselves separate from the world.
What exactly are the characteristics of salt? When used as a
seasoning it brings out and improves the flavor of food; it
preserves fish or meat. In all cases there is co-operation that
results in improvement of the item in question. But remember also
that the salt must be applied early while the food item is fresh
and unspoiled. Only then can it prevent the growth of bacteria.
How does this apply to us? How can we, "the salt of the
earth", retain our savour and manifest it at the same time?
The Bible does not leave us without answers as to the purpose of
this God given saltiness. Mark 9:50 tells us "Have salt in
yourselves and be at peace with each other." The influence of
salt here is a blending effect that brings out the best in
everyone and results in peaceful coexistence within the family of
God. This could be quite impressive to those who do not know
Jesus Christ. Certainly this is one thing Christians must strive
to achieve. But this cannot be done of us. We must work in
cooperation with Christ because it is only in close relationship
with Him that our salty savour can be maintained. If we partake
"of the world" and get too much of its influence in our lives we
will eventually have less of Christ. Our saline quality will be
adulterated or watered down and cause weaknesses to appear in our
Christian character.
If salt is meant to improve or maintain an already good
quality, does it not seem reasonable that our saltiness is to be
reserved as a preservative for the people of God, our own
Israelite family, the called out ones. Did Almighty God create
Adam with the salt properties from the earth so that he and all
his Israelite progeny would be able to use it as needed? He
created Adam from the earth and the Hebrew word "adamah" means
earthy man, man of the earth or the ground. Is there a link here
that we should consider? Christ didn't say "you have salt" or
"you need salt". He said very definitely "You are the salt of the
earth". There is no substitute.
The importance of salt is also emphasized in the Old
Testament book of Leviticus, which speaks of a "covenant of salt"
between God and the Israelites. "Do not leave the salt of the
covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all
your offerings." (Lev.2:13) In the New Testament we offer
ourselves as a living sacrifice. Is this offering acceptable
without its salt? Salt is also a purifying agent. Is this a means
of keeping God's people pure and separate for Himself?
Salt has a special significance with God's people throughout
the ages. From Adam through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob God's
Israelite people are called to be different. Salt is integrity;
it is honesty; it is love for one another; it is justice and
righteous anger. Whatever we do, it must be done with grace and
kindness and with goal intention to bring about a beneficial
result as salt always does - after all, that is salt's
natural effect.
"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned
with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone"
(Col.4:6).
It is in building each other up in the faith and encouraging
each other and worshipping together as a Christian community that
we can be "the salt of the earth" in a lost world. Is this not
the witness that is pleasing to God and that will exalt Him in
all the earth?
(Thanks Alex Robertson from Barrat Ministries, England who
brought this subiect to my attention)
.................
19. A World of Anger
We may have it also!
The Association of the Covenant People - Thy Kingdom Come -
September 2007
A WORLD OF ANGER
by Holly MILLS
"But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice,
blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth" (Col.3:8).
We are indeed living in a world of anger. If you watch, read
or listen to the news today it is filled with people and nations
who are angry. Anger is the emotion of the day, as my friend
would say. We have become such an I/Me culture that we tend to be
reactive rather than proactive. Anger is one of our strongest
emotions and so often we feel it is justified. The reality is
that anger is generally a destructive emotion rather than a
positive one. It usually causes more harm than good. "The
north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a
backbiting tongue" or "The north wind bringeth forth rain: so
doth a backbiting tongue and angry countenance" (Prov.25:23). We
often cause many problems when we are angry. Rebellion, destroyed
relationships, violence, etc. all come out of anger.
We do not seem to know how to control ourselves today. We
have lost respect for each other. It is so easy to blame others
and be angry with them. This is exactly what happened in
the Garden of Eden, when Adam blamed the woman God had given him
and Eve blamed the serpent, when, in reality, they both sinned.
It seems if we can blame someone else we can feel justified
in our sin. This is the way it has always been. Without Christ in
our lives it is so easy to behave that way. We do not want to
take responsibility for what is going wrong in our lives, so we
become angry, resentful and disrespectful. This carries over into
all areas of our lives. The old phrase "he has a chip on his
shoulder" applies here as many of us carry around old wounds and
keep the anger inside. We become selfish and self-centered and
feel like the world owes us something. Consequently we become
angry with everyone.
How sad, as this is not the way we are to be. This is a sure
fire way to drive people out of your life and to cause all sorts
of health problems. "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go
down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil" (Eph.4:
26-27). Do not hold onto your anger. It is a very destructive
emotion and harms your relationship with God.
Our nations too are filled with anger and hate. Most of this
anger is caused by resentment, power struggles, past injustices,
etc: and it is spilling over to all peoples of the earth. The
whole earth is full of anger. How long can this go on before
something catastrophic happens? When people (nations) are angry
they often do things out of retaliation rather than being
sensible. This is very destructive. This anger and hate is
leading to a time of judgment on the earth. It cannot go on much
longer. "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come. And
the time of the dead that they should be judged. And that thou
shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the
saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and
shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth" (Rev.11:18).
This uncontrolled anger and hate will destroy the earth if
God does not step in and help us.
Today we do not know how to control our anger. Without God's
laws guiding us we are letting our sinful natures rule us. This
is leading to nothing but destruction. Our countries are no
longer ruled by God's laws and we are quickly heading to
destruction. We must continue to warn our people that they must
repent and come to the Lord Jesus. The time is short.
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that
which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace
unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby
ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and
wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away
from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's
sake hath forgiven you" (Eph.4: 29-32).
................
ANGER can lead to physical harm, hurt, or even death. How many
murders have you seen on TV news programs that were the result of
anger? Many indeed. How many physical harms were the result of
anger have you seen or heard about in news papers and TV news
casts? Many indeed. Today most of us have heard about "road rage"
- people doing harmful things against others (even killing)
because of anger while driving on the highways, out of control.
Have you ever felt anger without cause against someone because of
things said or situations real or imagined? Have you had
undesirable thoughts towards your boss because you felt he did
you wrong? Or evil thoughts towards a co-worker, or someone in
your club or sports team or a neighbor. The situations could be
endless where if you are not guarding your thoughts, could lead
you to attitudes of malice, wrath, bad words rushing through your
mind, and/or anger, without cause.
Satan and his demon helpers are only too ready to help you with
evil thoughts, and words, and anger, if you allow them to sneak
into your mind. The dark side of our human nature can pop up its
ugly head, to fill our mind with anger, malice, blasphemy, and
communications out of our mouth that are unclean, or as Paul put
it, just plain filthy.
Yes, we live in a world ever getting more angry, the anger that
does lead to sin, hurt, and even death.
When we feel or sense thoughts of anger, malice, and
communications with ourselves or others, that are sinful if not
checked, we need to cry out to our heavenly Father as David did,
"Create in me a clean heart oh God, and renew a right spirit in
me."
Christians are not perfect, we try to walk on the road that ever
leads to perfection and righteousness, but we are still in a
battle with our nature, the world around us, and Satan the Devil
and his demons.
Fight the good fight, lay hold on the crown of righteousness that
will be given to those who do continue to daily put on the whole
armor of God, and who will determine, with God's help, to put off
all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication
out of our mouth - Keith Hunt
20. A Fiery Dart - Slander!
It's Deadly in Many Way
by Keith Hunt
THE ADVERSARY IS WAGING WAR AGAINST THE CHURCH OF GOD. HE IS OUT
TO DIVIDE AND DESTROY GOD'S CHILDREN. HIS WEAPONS OF ATTACK ARE
MANY - ONE OF THEM IS THE DART OF SLANDER. IN THIS ARTICLE YOU
WILL LEARN HOW TO WITHSTAND AND OVERCOME THE SLANDEROUS TONGUE.
Here is how the WORLD BOOK DICTIONARY defines slander, "l.a.
a false report meant to do harm to the good name and reputation
of another ..... b....a spoken statement tending to damage a
person's reputation. 2. the spreading of false reports .... to
talk falsely about...."
The Reader's Digest FAMILY WORD FINDER has this to say
about slander, "1 ... defamation, falsehood; malicious
fabrication, false statement, distortion, misrepresentation ....
2.... defame, malign, vilify, revile; smear, sully, soil,
besmirch .... Usage note: Slander and libel both refer to
defamation or unjustified attack on a person's reputation. A
slander is spoken: Did you bear him slander me in front of my
friends? A libel is written (published) or broadcast: I'm suing
the newspaper for libel. Remember: Slander is SPOKEN, Libel is
LITERARY."
Slander is obviously covered by the 9th commandment which
states, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor".
It is a SIN to slander. Any sin begins in the heart and
those whose heart is not filled with God's Spirit will sin the
more (Luke 6:45). Some people are addicted to slander just like
some are addicted to alcohol or drugs. God speaks pretty plainly
to those who slander, "But unto the WICKED God says .... you give
your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and
speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son "
(Ps.50:16-20 KJV, emphasis mine). Those who slander others are
manifesting an outward sign of a deeper inward sin - hatred.
David cried out, "Hold not your peace, 0 God of my praise; For
the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened
against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They
compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against
me without a cause" (Ps.109:1-3 KJV and emphasis mine throughout
unless otherwise stated).
Some of the people who indulge in slander are often those
whom the Bible terms as "hypocrites" - see Prov.11:9. A hypocrite
is a "play actor", pretending to be something he/she is not,
often putting on a "good front" of being a nice person or a loyal
friend, when the truth of the matter is they are knifing you in
the back when your not looking.
Those who are caught in the addiction of a slanderous tongue
shall reap a fearful end if not repented of; "Why boastest you
yourself in mischief ..... Your tongue devises mischief; like a
sharp razor, working deceitfully. You love evil more than good;
and lying rather than to speak righteousness ... You love all
devouring words, 0 you deceitful tongue. God shall likewise
destroy you for ever, He shall take you away, and pluck you out
of the land of the living...." (Ps.52:1-5).
SLANDER AMONG THE PEOPLE OF GOD
Because slander is such an evil and destructive sin, you
would think that God's people would have little trouble with it,
that slanderous talk among the children of God would be
practically non existent. But such was not the case in the early
New Testament Church of God.
Peter found it necessary to say this in his letter to the
elect, "..... be you all of one mind, having compassion one of
another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not
rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but
contrariwise blessing .... For he that will love life and see
good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips
that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let
him seek peace and ensue it"(1 Pet.3:8-11). Paul had to tell the
Church at Ephesus, "Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath
(passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and
quarrelling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil
speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you,
with all malice (spite, ill will or baseness of any kind) "
(Eph.4:31 Amplified Bible). Now fancy being a part of that
congregation with all that going on. It must have been a problem
with some or Paul would not have admonished them to banish such
conduct from their lives. Paul instructed Titus to, "Remind
people ..... to slander or abuse or speak evil of no one.."(Titus
3:1-2 Amplified Bible). Peter was inspired to write, "So be done
with every trace of wickedness (depravity, malignity) and all
deceit and insincerity (pretence, hypocrisy) and grudges (envy,
jealousy) and slander and evil speaking of every kind" (1 Pet.2:1
Amplified Bible).
Paul told Titus to speak those things that were sound
doctrine to the aged men and women. One of those points of sound
doctrine was for the women to avoid slander. Verse three of Titus
2 is translated this way by the Amplified Bible, "Bid the older
women similarly to be reverent and devout in their deportment, as
becomes those engaged in sacred service, not slanderers or slaves
to drink. They are to give good counsel and be teachers of what
is right and noble." Paul also told Timothy that deacons and
deaconesses were not to be doubletongued or slanderers (1 Tim.
3:8-11).
The people that James wrote to also had problems with
slander. He had to admonish them, "(My) brethren, do not speak
evil about or accuse one another. He that maligns a brother or
judges his brother is maligning and criticizing the Law and
judging the Law.... (James 4:11 Amplified Bible). The word malign
and slander are synonyms.
Libel, we learned earlier, is with the pen - Slander is with
the tongue. While we are in the book of James it will be well
worth our time to again read what James had to say about that
"little member" of ours - the tongue - in chapter 3 and verses 2
to 18. The little tongue can indeed be a "world of iniquity"
reaping great havoc upon peoples lives if not controlled. Notice
these sober verses of scripture - Job.5:21; Ps.140:3; Ecc.10:11;
Prov.11:9; Ecc.10:13; Matt.12:36.
EXAMPLES OF SLANDER
The Bible has many examples of the slanderous tongue, and
what the result was for the innocent and/or for the slanderer.
Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob or Israel, found
himself in Egypt as the servant of Potiphar - an officer of
Pharaoh. This officer was a wise man and soon recognized that God
was with Joseph in all that he put his hand to do. Soon Joseph
was made overseer over the entire household of Potiphar. There
was complete trust on the part of Potiphar towards Joseph. Then
things began to turn against Joseph - pick it up in Gen.39:7,
"And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife
cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me." Potiphar's
wife wanted Joseph to go to bed with her. But he refused saying,
"There is none greater in this house than I; neither has he kept
back any thing from me but you, because you are his wife: how
then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" verse
9. Joseph was completely innocent - she was tempting him to have
sex with her but he was having nothing to do with it - he was not
going to hurt his master or sin against his God.
But this woman was not going to give up that easy, she day
by day, tried to tempt Joseph into bed with her. Then one day
when he was alone in the house she caught hold of him and tried
to force her way upon him. Joseph pulled himself away and ran
like a fox being chased by hounds, out of the house, but she was
successful in hanging on to one of his outer garments as he fled
from her.
Oh boy, was she angry and wild, like a cat on a hot tin
roof. She was going to get his wagon. How dare he refuse her
advances. She summoned the other servants and to them she cried
"rape", verses 13 to 15. When her husband came home she again
started her slander against Joseph (v.16-18).
Potiphar believed the story his wife told him about Joseph.
It would seem he never went to the horses mouth to get the truth
from Joseph, but with anger cast Joseph into prison (v.19-20).
What Potiphar's wife had said about Joseph was a complete lie - a
100% false story she made up because she was hating him for not
complying with her wishes. People will do drastic things when
filled with resentment and hate. The consequences of this slander
for Joseph was a prison sentence. Yet God was able to turn about
this hardship and trial for Joseph into further honor and glory.
The ultimate result was one of triumph for Joseph, as the
following chapters of Genesis show.
There were times when God dealt with slander in no uncertain
way. One of those times was when God told Moses to send men to
search out the land of Canaan. This story is found in Numbers
chapter 13 - 14:38. These men were to spy out the land, to see if
the people who dwelt there were strong or weak, whether the land
was good or bad, if the people dwelt in tents or strong holds.
They were to see if the land was "fat or lean" and if it
contained wood or not (Num.13:1-20). Forty days they searched out
the land and then returned. They brought back proof that the land
was flowing with milk and honey - much luscious fruit. But when
it came to describing the men of the land, they all except Joshua
and Cabel lied and greatly exaggerated their strength and
stature. They said, "...ALL the people that we saw in it are men
of GREAT STATURE. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak,
which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as
grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight "(Num.13:32,33). Yes,
there probably were some men of great stature, but certainly not
ALL as they tried to make out. And the sons of Anak maybe were
giants, but they greatly exaggerated in their "grasshopper"
analogy.
Slander is not only out and out lies, but also it includes
exaggerations. So effective was the slander of these men, the
whole camp of Israel save a few, rose up to murmuring and
complaints against God, to the point where the Lord was ready to
"smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them" and make of
Moses a great nation - chapter 14 verses 1-12. Moses interceded
on behalf of Israel so the Lord changed His mind about the
destruction He thought to bring upon those faithless and
rebellious people. Yet they who were led astray by the slander
and murmured would be punished - they would die in the wilderness
and not enter the promised land (verses 14-35).
As for those men who led Israel to sin against the Lord, it
is written, "And the men, which Moses sent to search the land,
who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against
him, by bringing up a SLANDER upon the land, Even those men that
did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague
before the Lord (verses 36,37).
The evil results of slander can be devastating!
Notice how God told Israel to deal with slander from a new
husband against his bride:
"If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her
and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, 'I married
this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of
her virginity,' then the girl's father and mother shall bring
proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the gate. The
girl's father will say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter in
marriage,to this man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered
her and said, I did not find your daughter to be a virgin, but
here is proof of my daughter's virginity.' Then her parents shall
display the cloth before the elders of the town, and the elders
shall take the man and punish him. They shall fine him a hundred
shekels of silver and give them to the girl's father, because
this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall
continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he
lives " (Deut.22:13-19 NIV children's edition).
Slander is not "just a little white lie" to be taken
lightly; it can have very grave results for the person being
slandered.
Ahab was king in Samaria, and one day he coveted the
vineyard close to his palace that belonged to a man called
Naboth. Ahab asked Naboth to sell or exchange his vineyard for
another, so Ahab could have his. But he refused to do so and Ahab
went home and sulked (1 Kings 21:1-4). It was not long until his
wife Jezebel found out why Ahab was sulking, and came up with a
plan that would secure the vineyard Ahab wanted.
"So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, placed his seal on
them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in
Naboth's city with him. In those letters she wrote:
'Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent
place among the people. But seat two scoundrels opposite him
and have them testify that he has cursed both God and the
king. Then take him out and stone him to death.' So the
elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city did as Jezebel
directed in the letters she had written to them. They
proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place
among the people. Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite
him and brought charges against Naboth before the people,
saying, 'Naboth has cursed both God and the king.' So
they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. Then
they sent word to Jezebel: 'Naboth has been stoned and is
dead.'"(1 Kings 21:8-14 NIV children's edition).
The saying "sticks and stones can break my bones but names
will never hurt me" may be true in one sense, but then again in
another sense - names of slander - they can kill - literally!
Slander and libel come from a heart and mind filled with
resentment, animosity, and hate, and/or a heart of jealousy or
revenge.
The sinless one Himself - the perfect one - our Savior
Christ Jesus, did not escape the slanderers tongue. He was
charged by some to be a vinebibber (alcoholic) and a gluttonous
man - Matt.11:19. He was accused of being possessed by a devil -
John 8:48,52; 10:20. Some claimed Jesus was seditious - Luke
22:65; 23:5. And He was said to have blasphemed - Mark 14:64;
John 5:18.
Of course none of these accusations were true, yet some
carnal minded people told others that Jesus was guilty of these
things. They probably were willing to "cross by heart and hope to
die" to those they told these stories to, and no doubt many who
listened to them pricked up their ears and said, "Is that so, I
did not know that, thank you so much for telling me. Now I know
to stay away from that evil man."
Those who believed such false statements about Christ,
probably never thought of going to Jesus Himself and asking Him
if such stories were true. Instead of getting it straight from
the horses mouth, they merrily went their way being sure they now
had the truth about this guy who claimed to be the Son of God.
One of the evils of slander or libel is that OTHERS WILL
BELIEVE IT as "the gospel truth" and will never find the real
truth - they will believe a lie and have pleasure in
unrighteousness (2 Thes.2:7-12).
Many a true minister of God, while zealously doing the work
of the Lord, have been accused by their enemies of this or that
evil, and/or preaching false doctrines. This happened to Paul
many times in his life - sometimes the slander against him nearly
resulted in his death.
When Paul was in Jerusalem on one occasion, ".... the Jews
which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up
all the people, and laid hands on him. Crying out, 'Men of
Israel, help: This is the man, that teaches all men every where
against the people, and the law, and this place(Paul was
slandered as to what he taught): and FURTHER brought Greeks also
into the temple, and has polluted this holy place(slandered
concerning his actions)'. For they had seen before with him in
the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they SUPPOSED(in the
imagination of their dark twisted minds) that Paul had brought
into the temple. And all the city was moved, and the people ran
together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and
forthwith the doors were shut. And as they vent about to kill
him(slander resulting in a lynch mob), tidings came unto the
chief captain of the band, that ALL Jerusalem was IN AN
UPROAR. Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran
down unto them: and when they(the lynch mob) saw the chief
captain and the soldiers, they left BEATING of Paul" (Acts
21:27-32 emphasis and comments mine).
If the chief captain had not intervened, Paul would probably
have been killed. All because some jealous, hate filled, power
hungry men had slandered his name. Slander is nothing to be
laughed at.
THE EFFECTS OF SLANDER
As we have seen, defamation of character, falsehood,
malicious fabrication, distortion, misrepresentation - in a
single word, SLANDER - can have deadly results. Grievous wounds
can be the end result of slander; "The words of a talebearer
(those who indulge in slander and libel) are as wounds, they go
down into the innermost parts of the belly" (Prov.18:8 added
comment mine). Many who have been slandered can attest to the
fact that literal physical sickness can come upon the innocent
party from the results of the falsehood that many believe and the
actions they take.
Those that indulge in malicious fabrication and talebearing,
will usually cause much strife among people; "Where no wood is,
there the fire goes out: so where there is no talebearer, the
strife ceases" (Prov.26:20).
We have already seen from some of the examples left us in
the Bible about slander, that physical death can be the end
result for the one being slandered. King David came near to
experiencing this effect of one of Satan's darts. He wrote in
Psalm 31 and verse 13, "For I have heard the slander of many:
fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against
me, they devised to take away my life."
This wounderous and deadly arrow from the bow of the
adversary, can cause discord among brethren and separate friends;
"A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief
friends" (Prov. 16:28).
So devastatingly harmful is a false statement/distortion - a
slander/libel - that it effected the list of seven abominations
that God hates!
"These six things does the Lord hate: yes, seven are an
abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands
that shed innocent blood, An heart that devises wicked
imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false
witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among
brethren" (Prov.6:16-19).
Notice - slander/libel - is covered TWICE in those seven
abominations that the Lord hates.
THE END RESULT OF THE SLANDERER
To those who are wise and will listen, God says, "He that
hides hatred with lying lips, and he that utters a slander, is a
FOOL" (Prov.10:18). Why is a person foolish who partakes of the
slandering tongue? The Lord tells you why in verse 21 of this
same chapter in Proverbs, "The lips of the righteous feed many:
but FOOLS die for want of wisdom." The end result of those who
will not repent of using slander and libel is - DEATH!
Jeremiah was sent by God to warn Judah of death and
captivity if they did not repent of their sins, but they would
not listen or believe the words he spoke. Instead they devised to
attack him with their tongues, no doubt this included maligning
him, defamation of character, besmirching, and false statements.
This is what is written in Jeremiah 18, "They said, 'Come, let's
make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the
priest will not be lost, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the
word from the prophet. So come, let's attack him with our tongues
and pay no attention to anything he says'(verse 18). In response
to this Jeremiah cried out to God, 'Listen to me, O Lord; hear
what my accusers are saying ..... Remember that I stood before
you and spoke in their behalf to turn your wrath away from them
..... they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares
for my feet. But you know, 0 Lord, all their plots to kill me. Do
not forgive their crimes or blot out their sins from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you; deal with them in the time of
your anger'"(verses 19-23).
God will destroy with death those who will not repent of
practicing slander, for it is written, "Whoso privily slanders
his neighbor, him will I cut off"(Ps.101:5). And, "Blessed are
they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the
tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and
murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie"
(Rev. 22:14,15).
WHAT THE CHRISTIAN CAN DO ABOUT SLANDER
1. DO NOT LISTEN TO SLANDER
King Saul of Israel often tried to kill David (the man God
had chosen to replace Saul as king over Israel). This led David
to become a fugitive on the run. On one occasion it was told Saul
that David and his men were in the wilderness of Engedi (1 Sam.
24:1). As we read on in this 24th chapter of first Samuel, we
find Saul stopping at a cave when nature called him to relieve
himself. What he didn't know at the time was that David and his
men were inside the cave. David's men wanted to kill Saul but
David would have no part of such an idea, saying, "...The Lord
forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's
anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is
the anointed of the Lord"(verse 6). David did cut off a portion
of Saul's outer garment without him knowing about it.
There was never a time when David was seeking to kill or
hurt Saul, yet some had told Saul that David was planning to
physically harm him. Notice what David said to Saul after he had
left the cave, "David also arose afterward, and went out of the
cave, and cried after Saul, saying, 'My lord the king.' And when
Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth,
and bowed himself. And David said to Saul, 'Wherefore hearest you
men's words, saying, Behold, David seeks your hurt?'" (verses
8,9).
Saul was willing to listen to people saying false statements
about David. And in essence, David was telling Saul not to listen
to such slander.
The Christian should not entertain for one moment, known
slanderous statements about another person. And if it is not
known if such statements are true or not, the Christian should
not listen to second or third hand gossip, but should if he feels
it absolutely necessary, go directly to the horses mouth - to the
person themselves for the truth.
2. THE SLANDERER MAY HAVE TO BE REBUKED
"The north wind drives away rain: so does an angry
countenance a backbiting tongue" (Prov.25:23).
There may arise a time when a slanderer must be dealt with
in a loving but firm manner.
3. A CHRISTIAN SHOULD KEEP HIMSELF FROM SLANDER AND LIBEL
"Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking
guile" (Ps.34:13).
If every single person entering the Church of God was truly
and deeply filled with the Holy Spirit at all times, there would
never be any slander in the body of Christ. But the truth of the
matter is, unconverted people do sit in the Churches of God, and
converted people are not always filled with God's Spirit.
Nevertheless, as Christians we are admonished and instructed
over and over again by the word of the Lord, to control what
comes out of our mouth, to put a break or a straight jacket on
our tongue.
We are instructed to, "Let your speech be always with grace,
seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer
every man" (Col.4:6).
If we remember that it is from the heart and mind of a
person that the mouth speaks, and if we fill that heart and mind
with truth and goodness, we will have little or no trouble with
having a slanderous tongue.
As the apostle Paul said, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever
things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things
are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of a good report; if there be any
virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK ON THESE THINGS "
(Phil.4:8 emphasis mine).
................
Written in 1991
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