Satan’s Devices – Defilement

 Temple Baptist Church - 6-9-2024

Proverbs 7:6-13

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  Satan’s Devices are things that are knowable to the believer.  We need not be ignorant of them.

 

2 Corinthians 2:11  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

 

B.  Satan cannot destroy our salvation; therefore, he tries to destroy our testimonies and lives, rendering us saved but useless!

 

C.  Satan uses circumstances but his main weapon it the believer’s flesh.  We still have an old nature that is depraved.  The Apostle Paul, one of the greatest Christians who ever lived said, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” (Romans 7:18)

 

D.  In the context of Romans 7:18,  we find the man of God not doing what he knew to do that was right but often doing the things that he knew to be wrong.  Why?  A question to be answered.

 

E.  Too often, the believer suffers from self-enticement.  Not to our verses for this morning:

 

1.  We find a “simple one” who was a “youth.”  A young man void of understanding.

 

2.  This young man knew who the harlot was and where she lived.  These things are ones of common knowledge.  We would call it a “Red Light District.”

 

3.  He advanced from the “street near her corner” to “the way to her house.”

 

4.  He did so 3 times: in the “twilight”, in the “evening”, and in the black and dark night.  Three chances to make the proper choice and failed to do so.

 

5.  It is now nighttime, and she is “without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.”

 

6.  She “caught him, and kissed him” with an “impudent face.” 

 

7.  Here, we need to go no further.

 

F.  Defilement!  I would dare to say that every adult in this congregation this morning, as I made that statement, could think of someone who has destroyed their testimony and usefulness through sinfulness. 

 

G.  There are many that we once went to church with that are now back out in the “world” with testimonies that are permanently tarnished.  Some are men that have ruined their service because of their love for strange women.  Some are men who went back to a life of alcohol or drugs. 

 

H.  Many times, Satan knows our weaknesses because we “telegraph” them.  He is not omniscient and, therefore, must rely upon what information that we give him.

 

J.  In these last perilous times, people are exposed to so many things that defile the mind and body.  In times past, most people who lived in sin remained “out of the spotlight” because their sin was not acceptable to people in general.  Today, the things that were once hidden are not publicized and acceptable by society.

 

K.  This morning, I want to name just a few of the things that you and I will face when we go out those doors and into our “Jerusalem” that may defile us.

 

1.  The Defilement Of Compromised Situations – Satan Will Offer You Opportunities For Compromise - 1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 

 

a.  This verse does not speak of evil but merely the appearance of evil.

 

1 Peter 3:16  Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

 

b.  We must have good conversation (lifestyle) that cannot be compromised.

 

Titus 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

 

c.  You must be “above board” with your testimony in order to stave off false accusation.  STAY AWAY FROM POTENTIALLY COMPROMISED SITUATIONS!

 

2.  The Defilement Of An Uncontrolled Tongue – Satan Will Cause You To Say Things That You Will Later Regret - James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

 

a.  Never leave your tongue in gear when your brain is idling.  Be careful little tongue what you say!

 

Luke 6:45  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

 

b.  God gave you two ears and one tongue.  This should be all the warning that you need.  Hear twice as much as you speak!

 

Titus 2:8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

 

3.  The Defilement Of A Bitter Spirit – Satan Will Lead Others To Say And Do Things To Hurt You And Tempt You To REACT! - Hebrews 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

 

a.  The grace of God is sufficient to quench bitterness.  There will be things done that you do not understand or are unfair.  People can be both wicked and hateful.

 

b.  Each of us have a choice to be made at this point:  we can be bitter or we can be better.

 

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

 

4.  The Defilement Of Fleshly Allurement – Satan Will Place A Woman (or a man) In Your Life To Entice You To Commit Adultery - Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 

 

a.  This is not just a “man thing” and ladies should take extra care not to get too friendly with men other than their husbands.  There is so much interaction between men and women in our day because of lack of fidelity in marriage and closeness in workplaces.

 

5.  The Defilement Of Fornication – Satan Will Certainly Compromise The Purity Of Our Youth In The Area Of Sexual Impurity - Genesis 34:2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

 

1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

 

Ephesians 5:3  But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

 

6.  The Defilement Of Sinful Habits – Satan Has Made Sinful Habits Both Appealing And Easily Accessible - 1 Corinthians 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. 

 

(One good “Rule Of Thumb” is to never start something that you are going to have to quit!  Smoking, cursing, drinking, drugs, pornography, etc.)

 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 

 

7.  The Defilement Of Evil Thinking - Mark 7:20-23 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22  Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23  All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

 

1 Peter 1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Titus 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving [is] nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

 

Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

 

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

 

Conclusion:  How do I keep myself from both physical and physical defilement? 

 

The Protection Of A Purposed Heart - Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

Remove Not The Ancient Landmark

Temple Baptist Church - 1-21-2024

Proverbs 22:28

Introduction: 

 

A.  We live in a rapidly changing world and the changes are not for the better.

 

1.  The World is changing. 

 

a)  We are seeing the anti-God movement as people become reprobate concerning the faith.

 

b)  There is a general forsaking of the local church; a general lack of concern for things that are eternal; a general turn away from the beliefs of our fathers. 

 

c)  People today think that they have to re-invent the wheel and that their fathers and mothers were wrong in almost everything that they taught.

 

2.  Churches are changing.  Falling away plus Laodicea.  Quantity over Quality. 

 

a)  They have become “numbers” oriented instead of maintaining the traditions of the fathers.  Their ploy is that the world is changing, and we must change with it. 

 

b)  Both young and old are forsaking traditional churches for the contemporary ones where they are entertained instead of being preached to.

 

Hosea 4:6  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

 

3.  Doctrine is changing.  Thus, we come to our text for the next few weeks.  I have often said: “We must have an Anchor in the shifting sands of human theology.”  We must have something that is right; something that is not moving; otherwise, we get “spiritual vertigo.”

 

Psalms 11:3  If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

 

B.  Before I dissect our text for this morning, I want you to turn to 2 Timothy, chapter 3.  The introduction to the context found here is simple:

 

1.  Verses 1-5 – The Spiritual Condition of the Last Days.

 

2.  Verses 6-9 – The Spiritual Confusion of the Last Days.

 

3.  Verses 10-17 – The Spiritual Constancy of the Last Days.

 

C.  How do we know what is right?  The key is found in Verse 14: “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.” 

 

D.  Let us look at the words of our text as words in the Bible are important.  I will also take a closer look at that in the weeks to come.

 

E.  Our text verse says, “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.” 

 

F.  LAND'MARK, n. [land and mark.]  1828 Webster's Dictionary: A mark to designate the boundary of land; any mark or fixed object; as a marked tree, a stone, a ditch, or a heap of stones, by which the limits of a farm, a town or other portion of territory may be known and preserved.

 

G.  The Bible has much to say concerning “landmarks.”

 

1.  These landmarks were given by God - Deuteronomy 19:14  Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

 

2.  The Lord curses those who remove them - Deuteronomy 27:17  Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.

 

3.  These landmarks belong to others also - Proverbs 23:10  Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

 

4.  There is an ulterior motive for removing them - Job 24:2  Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.

 

H.  The longer we hold to the “Old Paths” or “Ancient Landmarks,” the farther away from this rapidly advancing, present evil world we get! 

 

1.  We become the spiritual “stick in the mud” or “narrow minded” fundamentalists!  Our theology becomes less and less acceptable in both the world and the religious community.

 

2.  The farther we get from the world (it is the world that is moving away from God, not us moving away from the world) the more of as oddity and threat we become.  We will become more maligned and persecuted for an unbending faith in both Christ and the Bible.

 

3.  The world will hate us because it hated Christ, but the danger is this:

 

a) If we move or remove the ancient landmarks, we will think about them less and be more apt to “get used to the dark” of sinfulness.

 

b)  If we move or remove the ancient landmarks, our children will never know them!  They will only know the pseudo-spirituality of the Antichrist and his one world religion of the end-time.

 

2 Timothy 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

 

1.  The Command of the Landmark – “remove not”  If these landmarks get either moved or removed, it will be done by us, not the world.

 

2.  The Antiquity of the Landmark – “ancient”  “New” may be good in some things, but not in the spiritual realm.  We are to seek and walk in the “Old Paths” wherein is the good way.

 

3.  The Fixture of the Landmark – “landmark”  We need to make sure that these landmarks not only are left for our children but also that they do not “move!”

 

4.  The Setters of the Landmark – “fathers”  These landmarks come from our spiritual forefathers who loved God, loved God’s Word, loved God’s church, and loved God’s people!

 

5.  The Permanence of the Landmark – “set”  If these landmarks are right, and they are, then they need to be driven so deep in our hearts and lives that they can never be either moved or removed!

 

2 Timothy 1:13  Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

A Proverbs Mother

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-14-2023

Proverbs 18:22

 

Introduction:  Mother’s Day is one of the most special of the year.  It is a time for “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.”  (Proverbs 31:29) 

 

In Proverbs 31:10-31, God set the standard high for you ladies!  I find no such text as this one with such qualifications and multiple facets.

 

Why so?  Because God has chosen you ladies to guide the home, build a “nest” for your family to dwell in.  God made you special as He made you to be a helpmeet for the husband and a mother to the children and grandchildren.

 

Without you, the man would be alone, the home would be a house, and there would be no children and grandchildren.  Adam named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all living.  GOD MADE YOU SPECIAL AND GAVE YOU TO THE MAN!

 

That, my friends, will preach!

 

A.  Proverbs 18:22  Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

 

1.  To both young and old, if you want a good Mama for your children, marry right!  This is not my message but one that is important to having a good home and godly Mother.

 

a.  “Whoso” is another way of saying “whosoever” which means every man.

 

b  “Findeth” means to make a diligent search.  Be careful when you marry. 

 

c.  Make sure to pick the right mate for yourself (both boys and girls) and mother for your children.

 

2.  I sure miss my “mom” and “second mom”!  Oh, how she loved her family, what a wonderful mother she was.

 

a.  Mom loved us youngins despite our faults and, sometimes, radical behavior!  We were a mess, but mom was good at straightening our messes.

 

b.  From birth to old age, mom was always there for us.  Her love and wisdom, patience and comradery were always there.

 

c.  I miss calling mom several times a week to just chat with her.  I am glad that she is finally home, and I will see her again.

 

3.  I thank the Lord for Barbara!  She likewise looks beyond both my faults and our children.  What a wonderful wife and mother she has been through these years and I love her more than life.

 

4.  I thank the Lord for the mothers and ladies of our church.  I love and respect each one you equally.

 

B.  It is interesting what some great men have said concerning their mothers.  The mother has a tremendous influence for either good or evil in the lives of the children.

 

Washington Irving – “The love of a real mother is never exhausted.  It never changes-it never tires-it endures through all; in good repute, in bad repute, in the face of the world’s condemnation, a mother’s love still lives on.”

 

Charles Spurgeon – “I cannot tell how much I owe to the prayers of my good mother…I remember her once praying, “Now Lord, if my children go on in sin it will not be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear swift witness against them at the day of judgment if they lay not hold on Christ and claim Him as their personal Savior.”

 

Dr. G. Campbell Morgan had 4 sons and they were all preachers.  Someone once came into the drawing room when all the family was there.  They thought they would see what Howard, one of the sons, was made of so they asked him this question:  “Howard, who is the greatest preacher in your family?”  Howard had a great admiration for his father and he looked straight across at him and then, without a moments hesitation, he answered, “Mother.”

 

May R. Coker - Motherhood is the greatest privilege of life.

 

Abraham Lincoln - No man is poor who has had a godly mother.

 

Seen on a church sign:  If evolution is true, how come mothers still have only two hands?

 

C.  How moms are made:  She has to be completely washable, but not plastic; have 200 moveable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart; and have six pairs of hands.  She must have 3 pairs of eyes.  One pair of eyes is to see through the closed door as she asks the children what they are doing even though she already knows.  Another pair in the back of the head is to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can.  The third pair is in the front of the head.  They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word.  She heals herself when she is sick and can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower.  Se is made both soft and tough.  She can endure and accomplish anything.  She will be able to think, reason, and negotiate.  She has tears as her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, and her grief.  SHE IS BOTH SPECIAL AND SPECIALLY MADE!!!  

 

D.  Good, godly women and mothers are a scarce commodity today.  They are hard to find, but thank God, there are still some young ladies being raised for the Lord in such a manner as to make good, godly wives.

 

E.  Godly mothers are not born, it is a choice each lady personally makes.

 

F.  Proverbs give us the description of what a godly wife and mother should be.

 

1.  The Proverbs Mother is a Gracious Woman - Proverbs 11:16   A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches.  (GRACIOUS - Favorable; kind; benevolent; merciful; disposed to forgive offenses and impart unmerited blessings.)

 

2.  A Gracious Woman Is Favorable Woman - Proverbs 18:22   Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.  (She brings the blessings of God into a home!)

 

3.  The Proverbs Mother is a Virtuous Woman - Proverbs 31:10   Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.  (She is a Pearl of Great Price that money cannot buy.)

 

4.  The Proverbs Mother is a  Crowning Woman - Proverbs 12:4   A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.  (She brings pride and glory to her husband and home.)

 

5.  The Proverbs Mother is a Wise Woman - Proverbs 14:1   Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.  (She places her husband, children, and home above herself.)

 

6.  The Proverbs Mother is a God-Fearing Woman - Proverbs 31:30  Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.  (She is a woman of private devotion and prayer.)

 

7.  The Proverbs Mother is a Trusted Woman - Proverbs 31:11-12  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12  She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.  (No jealousy found here.  She is faithful to her husband and children.)

 

8.  The Proverbs Mother is an Appreciated Woman - Proverbs 31:28-31  Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. 29  Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 30  Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. 31  Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.  (Never take for granted the precious woman that God has given to you, husband and children.  Appreciate her and never break her heart!)

 

a.  Her Children – “her children”

 

b.  Her Husband – “her husband”

 

c Her Acquaintances – “in the gates”

 

d.  Her Lord – “shall be praised”

 

e.  And your pastor praises you this morning.