Wednesday, June 29, 2022

The Word and Creation

 Temple Baptist Church - 6-29-2022

Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3; 1 John 1:1


 

Introduction: Here, we find creation by The Creator. As we begin, I will spend a little time dealing with both creation and evolution as the unproven theory of evolution is being taught to both our adults and children.

 

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

 

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 

1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

 

A. I am going to spend a couple of weeks or so on creation. I said that as to let you know that we would not be finishing up in one sermon. Verse 3 deals with the creation of all things, with Jesus Christ—The Word—being the Creator. As we begin in verse 3, we see that the Word was God, and the Word was Creator.

 

B. The words “made” are important words. “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”  would or could have naturally occurred. Three times in John 1:3, the Bible uses the word “made.” The word “made” is used 11 times in Genesis, chapters 1-2.

 

C. Made means that someone had to do something that could not and would not have naturally occurred. I made my bed, or it would never be made. One of you ladies made a cake and, though the ingredients may have been found in your home, the cake would not have naturally been made.

 

D. What then was made? “All things.” This means that “all things” were not there when the Word created the heaven and earth in Genesis, chapter one! Thus, we find a phrase that I will use: “ex nihilo.” These two Latin words mean from or out of nothing.

 

E. God had nothing to work with when creation occurred! No atoms, no molecules, no dark matter, no sub-atomic particles, no gravity, no force of any kind, nothing!

 

Evolution teaches just the opposite of creation: all things were made of absolutely nothing without a Maker. Design without a Designer. Order from Disorder. Nature without Natural.

 

F. As I begin, I make no claim to be a scientist or nuclear physicist. I am about as ignorant and unlearned as they come but I have the Word of God in my hand that spells everything out for me. When I say this, I am not uneducated but have not been educated beyond my intelligence. So, with that being said, let us begin.

 

G. I have often said that Genesis 1:1 is the greatest theological statement in the Bible. It is a statement of God and not an argument for God. True science demands a Creator! I will not spend a lot of time on the unproven and unprovable Theory of Evolution, but I do want to show its result. A Theory is a hypothesis that has not or cannot be proven thus evolution. Biblical Christianity vs. Atheism and Evolution.

 

“Ex Nihilo” – “Out of nothing!”

 

Creation – God’s Glory

Evolution – The Fool’s Folly

 

Creation – The Believer’s Hope: We know there is a God!

Evolution – The Infidel’s Hope: They hope there is no God!

 

Creation – The Creator: The Word of God, Jehovah God, Jesus Christ

Evolution – Science Falsely So Called

 

Creation – Divine Order, the Earth in all its Glorious Design

Evolution – Accident, Randomness, Happenstance

 

Creation – Man, the Image of God

Evolution – Man, the Monkey’s Uncle

 

Creation – The Wisdom of God

Evolution – The Foolishness of Man

 

Creation – The Heavens Declare God

Evolution – The Heavens Mystify the Godless

 

Evolutionist Contradictions – Just a few as the theories of evolution

are changing with each new generation of atheistic scientists.

 

George Bernard Shaw said it all: “I'm an atheist and I thank God for it!”

 

"My attempts to demonstrate evolution by an experiment carried on for more than 40 years have completely failed.....It is not even possible to make a caricature of an evolution out of paleo biological facts...The idea of an evolution rests on pure belief." (Dr. Nils Heribert-Nilsson, noted Swedish botanist and geneticist, of Lund University)

 

George Wald, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1967. “There are only two possibilities as to how life arose. One is spontaneous generation arising from evolution; the other is a supernatural creative act of God. There is no third possibility. Spontaneous generation, that life arose from non-living matter was scientifically disproved 120 years ago by Louis Pasteur and others. That leaves us with the only possible conclusion that life arose as a supernatural creative act of God. I wilnot accept that philosophically because I do not want to believe in God. Therefore, I choose to believe in that which I know is scientifically impossible; spontaneous generation arising to evolution. (Wald, George, “Innovation and Biology,” Scientific American, Vol. 199, Sept. 1958, p. 100)

 

Stephen Hawking: “Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”

 

Mr. Hawking, gravity is a consequence, not an entity! Gravity is the result of unequal distribution of mass: the larger the mass, the greater the gravitational pull.

 

Albert Einstein, 1915 contradicts Hawking by saying that gravity is a consequence of mass: “Gravity is most accurately described by the general theory of relativity which describes gravity not as a force, but as a consequence of the curvature of spacetime caused by the uneven distribution of mass.”

 

Psalms 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

 

H. The Bible is right in the matter of a True Beginning. “In the beginning!”

 

1. Beginning defined: the start, commencement, origin, birth, “the point in time or space when something starts.”

 

2. There is one point on which both the evolutionist and the creationist agree, there had to be a true beginning! A true beginning must start with nothing and end up with something. There must have been a true beginning, if not, all things must be eternal, and everyone knows this is not true.

 

3. The evolutionist has an unresolvable problem at this point while the creationist has no problem. We have God and they have “ex nihilo.”

 

a) The Theory of Evolution is flawed in its very definition. For the universe to evolve, there must have been something to evolve from. Therefore, evolution cannot have a true beginning as it must be a continuation of something that was previous.

 

b) Natural Law cannot naturally be violated, therefore—in the realm of true nature—matter cannot be nither created or destroyed.

 

c) The brilliant but foolish physicist, Stephen Hawking (I hate to keep picking on him, but he places himself in the forefront of evolutionists), in his book “The Grand Design,” said that the Universe could “create itself.” The title of his book disproves his foolish assumptions. A “Grand Design” MUST have a Grand Designer! I have never seen anything designed that had no designer in the background.

 

1) The word universe, without matter, is simply 8 empty letters in the English alphabet! Thus, “science falsely so called.” How can nothing create anything, or the universe evolve from nothing? And scientists think that creationists are foolish?

 

2) Let us have a refresher course in math. Ready, let us do the math: 0+0=0, 0-0=0, and 0x0=0. Does everyone get it? Aha! You are smarter than Mr. Hawking because he got all the answers wrong. Mr. Hawking does not get it because he must create a universe without a Creator, therefore, 0+0=UNIVERSE! Mr. Hawking, Grand Design takes Grand Intelligence which demands God!

 

1 Timothy 6:20-21  O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:  (21)  Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

 

J. The Bible is right in the necessity of a Creator! “God created!”

 

1. In true science, there are 3 laws of thermodynamics which are empirical and cannot be violated. When I was in college (in the days before the flood), these laws were taught as absolutes which could not be changed but “science falsely so-called” continually tries to “bend” them to fit their narrative.

 

a) There are actually three but one deals with energy and absolute zero: the temperature at which a thermodynamic system has the lowest energy. It corresponds to −273.15 °C on the Celsius temperature scale and to −459.67 °F on the Fahrenheit temperature scale. People in South Carolina know nothing about cold like that so we will skip this one. I want to look at the first two laws of thermodynamics for a minute.

 

b) First law of thermodynamics – Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only change forms. In any process, the total energy of the universe remains the same (Theory of Relativity or conservation of mass and energy E=MC2). For a thermodynamic cycle, the net heat supplied to the system equals the net work done by the system. (Evolution says that, in the natural world, energy was created without a Creator which is a violation of natural law.)

 

c) Second law of thermodynamics – The entropy of an isolated system, not in equilibrium, will tend to increase over time, approaching a maximum value at equilibrium. (Evolution teaches that things continue to evolve upward instead of spiraling downward which violates natural law.)

 

2. The creationist has no problem at all with a true beginning, where something came from nothing. Our Bible is the only book in the world that has a credible beginning of the universe and mankind.

 

a) Only a divine Creator can create or bring matter into existence, “ex nihilo,” from or out of nothing. The very word “create” means to generate, to make, or to bring something into existence which demands a Creator!

 

b) The evolutionist must continually “mend the fences” by changing their theories concerning the true beginning while trying to eliminate the very thought of a divine Creator. The child of God rejoices in the opening statement of the Bible, “In the beginning God created!”

 

Hebrews 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

 

c) I said all of that to say this, the universe, and the life that we know came from an all-knowing God! There can be no other explanation unless all would agree that everything has always been, therefore, eternal.

 

K. I call The Theory of Evolution “The Fool’s Folly!” Jesus Christ, Jehovah God, created it all! Concerning the creation, the Bible sets forth the 2nd and 3rd Laws of Thermodynamics (indisputable laws). The First Law of Thermodynamics is a “nothing burger” as it deals with energy at absolute zero (−459.67 °F).

 

1. The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics (simply stated that matter cannot be created nor destroyed) is set forth in John 1:3:  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (Because of the way things are [everything different and remains that way-no intermediate species have ever been found for proved], only creation could have transpired, and nothing has been created that wasn’t from the beginning.)

 

2. The 3rd Law of Thermodynamics (everything in a closed systems tends to entropy or decay) is also found in the Bible: Romans 8:22-23 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. (23) And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

 

a) Nature – “the whole creation (the heavens and the earth) groaneth and travaileth in pain together”

 

b) Mankind – even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

 

2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

 

L. Facts that the Bible establishes concerning the Creator and His creation:

 

1. Jesus Christ was the Creator of His Universe. Colossians 1:15-17  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:  (16)  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:  (17)  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

 

a. God spoke and it was done! Psalms 33:6  By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

 

b. On the first day, Genesis 1:1-7, God laid the foundations! Heaven and earth. This was not the third heaven where God abides for it was already there. This was the expanse of all space as we know it. God spoke light into existence and divided the light from the darkness, calling the light Day and the darkness Night.

 

c. On the second day, Genesis 1:6-8, God divided the waters below from the waters above and created the atmosphere that protects the earth and can sustain life. Hebrews 1:10  And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: (Now the word “heavens’ is plural. The first heaven is our atmosphere, the second heaven is outer space, and the third heaven is where God lives.)

 

d. On the third day, Genesis 1:9-13, God gathered the waters together and divided them from the dry land. The dry land, He called earth and the waters He called seas. He created life for the first time as grass, herbs, and trees were created and were to bring after their own kind.

 

e. On the fourth day, Genesis 1:14-19, God created the universe: sun, moon, and stars. For the first time, God saw that it was good.

 

1 Corinthians 15:40-41  There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.  (41)  There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. (How could Moses tell that the stars were all different in their makeup?)

 

f. On the fifth day, Genesis 1:20-23, God again created life in the fish and fowl. These were also commanded to bring forth after their kind. These verses disprove evolution as there are no intermediate species that come through the process of evolution. Study life under the seas and you will be amazed at the species of life that live there and each has its purpose. Look at the species of fowl that God made. He made them all right!

 

g. On the sixth day, Genesis 1:24-25, God created the animal life and commanded them to bring forth after their own kind. (In nature, you have no hybrids! God made everything to bring forth within God’s law of “after his kind.” I have no black bird cardinals on my feeders. I have no dove wrens, etc. as they live in harmony without cross breeding. God made it that way and evolution has a problem with it. God’s way works!)

 

h. On the sixth day, Genesis 1:26-31, God made man of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. These are interesting verses as the newly formed Adam’s body (earthy) came from the earth and but had no life until God breathed life into him. This life was not breathed into the animals as it was the very life of God, eternal life. The chemical value of a man’s body is about $1.00 or so. Moses knew man came from dust and would return to dust at death. Only God could have revealed the makeup of man to Moses!

 

iIn six literal days (morning and evening), God created the heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is and rested on the seventh! Exodus 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (God stopped His creative work and NOTHING can be created since. Thus, the First Law of Thermodynamics!)

 

j. God’s commentary on His creation: Genesis 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (A perfectly synchronized universe that goes beyond man’s power to see! Why did God make it so big? To astound man and to glorify our all wise and powerful Creator! Look at the harmony of God’s nature on earth! If man will just leave it alone, God made it perfect and made it to endure until He renovates it again.)

 

2. Jesus Christ is the Owner of His Universe. Genesis 14:18-22  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.  (19)  And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:  (20)  And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.  (21)  And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.  (22)  And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

 

a. They were created for Him. Romans 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. (All that is belongs to Him.)

 

Colossians 1:15-17  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:  (16)  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:  (17)  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

 

b. They were created in perfection. Genesis 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (In the heavens and upon the earth, we find precision and harmony. The universe is a “well-oiled machine” that works with divine precision. To study the heavens and miss God is to ignore the “elephant in the living room.”)

 

Psalms 136:5-9  To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.  (6)  To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.  (7)  To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:  (8)  The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:  (9)  The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

 

c. They were created for His pleasure. Revelation 4:11  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Both are and were His pleasure. God loves His creation.)

 

3. Jesus Christ is glorified in His Universe. Psalms 19:1-4  The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.  (2)  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.  (3)  There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.  (4)  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,  

Psalms 14:1  “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” (Self-explanatory!)

 

4. Jesus Christ is the Sustainer of the Universe. Psalms 104:29-31 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. (30) Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. (31) The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.

 

Colossians 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

 

Consist – union together, cohesion. A cosmos instead of a chaos as one writer said it. He completed the universe, and it is sustained and preserved by His wisdom and power. Without Christ the Sustainer, the stars would collide and the worlds would crumble.

 

He is the center of life, force, motion, and rest; round Him all things revolve. He imposes their limits, gives to them their law, strikes the keynote of their harmonies, blends and controls their diverse operations.

 

Sunday, June 26, 2022

O Thou Deceitful Tongue

 Temple Baptist Church - 6-26-2022

Psalm 52

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Psalm 52 is ascribed to David when he was hiding from Saul. 

 

1.  David went to Kirjathjearim where the Tabernacle of the Congregation was for 20 years until David brought it home to its proper place.

 

2.  He and his men came to Ahimelech, the Priest, and Ahimelech gave David’s men food and also Goliath’s sword to David.  1 Samuel 21:1-9

 

3.  Doeg, the chief of herdsman for Saul, saw David there and went and told Saul. 

 

4.  Saul called Ahimelech and the priests and, when they came, had Doeg and Saul’s footmen to destroy them.  85 priests died that day because of the treason and tongue of Doeg.

 

B.  David breaks the Psalm into three parts:

 

1.  Verses 1-4.  The wickedness of the deceitful tongue.

 

2.  Verses 5-7.  The impending judgment of God.

 

3.  Verses 8-9.  David’s protection from the tongue.

 

C.  There are several descriptions of this wicked use of the tongue found in verses 1-4.

 

1.  Verse 2.  A Devising Tongue – Doeg the Mischievous.  “Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully”

 

2.   Verse 3.  A Deceptive Tongue – Doeg the Liar.  “Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness.”

 

3.  Verse 4.  A Devouring Tongue – Doeg the Hateful.  “Thou lovest all devouring words,”

 

4.  Verse 4.  A Deceitful Tongue – Doeg the Wicked.  “O thou deceitful tongue.”

 

5.  Verse 5.  A Destroying Tongue -Doeg the Destroyed.   “God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living.” The Double Sword – Destroys both the speaker and the spoken about

 

6.  Verses 6-7.  The Derision of the Saved – “The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him”

 

7.  Verse 8.  The Defense of the Saved – “I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. “

 

8.  Verse 9.  The Devotion of the Saved – “I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.”

 

D.  The tongue is a dangerous thing.  “Never leave your tongue in gear when your brain is idling.”  The tongue is often called the wickedest member of the church.  Proverbs 18:21  Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

 

1.  A Divisive Tongue - Proverbs 6:16-19  These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18  An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

 

2.  A Gossiping Tongue - Proverbs 26:20   Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.

 

3.  A Backbiting Tongue - Psalms 15:1-3  LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2  He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. 3  He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

 

4.  A Prating Tongue - 3 John 9-10   I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 10  Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

 

5.  A Deceitful Tongue - Psalms 50:19  Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.

 

6.  A Murmuring Tongue – Acts 6:1   And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

 

7.  A Discouraging Tongue - Deuteronomy 1:28  Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.

 

Proverbs 21:23  Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

 

Longsuffering

Temple Baptist Church - 6-26-2022

Romans 2:1-4

 

Introduction:

 

A. I have been preaching “sorta-kinda” through the fruit of the Spirit but from a different perspective. This morning, I want to look at longsuffering in the Bible. This is a very important message as it has to do with endurance outwardly which affects all of us.

 

B. First, the word “longsuffering” found in verse 4. A word easily understood when we break it down.

 

1. Long – over a long period of time. We live in days of shortness instead of longevity. I remember seeing on a child’s report card, “Gives up too easily.” It was not something written on an individual report but a standard question with a box in front of it to be checked or left unchecked. I have a feeling that if God had a standard report card issued to all His children that it would have the same question and box on it! “Gives up too easily!”

 

2. Suffering – suffer means to allow in a bad sense. We all know what it is to suffer. Suffering is a part of living and not one of us enjoy it. In the Bible, to suffer is to allow something that may or may not be enjoyable! When you are sick, you just have to put up with the suffering that goes along with it. With sickness, you have no choice but to suffer, but spiritually you can allow or not allow.

 

 

C. The first aspect of the fruit of the Spirit in our outward demeanor is an important one: longsuffering!

 

1. Longsuffering defined: patiently enduring lasting offense or hardship.

 

2. Longsuffering synonyms: Forgiving, selfless, accommodating, tolerant, patient, stoic, uncomplaining. I love the word stoic.

 

3. Stoic defined: not affected by or showing passion or feeling.

 

4. “Is everything going your way?” Longsuffering says, “No and neither does it have to go my way.”

 

1. The Longsuffering of the Saviour. The Lord is our example of longsuffering.

 

a. The Lord is longsuffering with Sinners. Hebrews 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

 

But the day will come when His longsuffering with not be there. 2 Peter 3:9-10 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (Sinners need to be saved but God will not force His salvation upon them!)

 

b. The Lord is longsuffering with Saints. Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

 

As I get to the message, I want you to think how longsuffering that God has to you and me! This is the example of longsuffering and His love is the basis of longsuffering.

 

2. The Longsuffering of the Saint. Longsuffering: simply stated is that you are going to have to put up with a lot of “junk” from a lot of people: sinners, and saints!

 

a. Long. We live in days where preachers have no longevity! We get the “glowing” prayer letters and then find out that they have already quit and gone home by the time that you get them. This tells me that they quit in their heart before they left their “post!” I have been here for over 35 years. I am not the man that I used to be so, for you to keep me here for that long, two things had to happen:

 

1) You had to put up with a lot of “junk.” ðŸ˜Š

 

2) I have had to put up with a lot of “junk.” ðŸ˜Š

 

3) HANG IN THERE! Don’t get you “Gives up too easily” box checked!

 

b. Suffering. People have good days and bad days. You just have to put up with a lot of “junk” in this life!

 

1) In the bad days, they may say dumb things, or otherwise transgress “your space” in some way so you can either ACT or REACT.

 

2) If you react, your response can fuel a fire than needs to be put out. Wrong reactions are like fighting a house fire with gasoline! Things fail to have a harmonious outcome.

 

3. The Good Results of Longsuffering.

 

a. Longsuffering protects the Unity within the Church. We are brothers and sisters in Christ and are to love one another with our whole heart fervently. Charity, or brotherly love, covers a multitude of sins.

 

b. Longsuffering protects the Purpose of the Church. When people get hurt and leave a church, missions giving is always the first thing that pays the price.

 

c. Longsuffering protects the Testimony of the Church. When people leave churches wrong, the world will soon know.

 

d. Longsuffering protects the Posterity of the Church. When people are miffed at one another, there is division, and our children know and are hurt by it.

 

e. Longsuffering protects our Prayer of the Church. When we are out of sorts with others, we are out of sorts with God and our prayers go unanswered.

 

f. Longsuffering protects the Praise of the Church. If we do not love our brother whom we can see, how can we worship our God whom we cannot see.