How To Spot A Spot

Temple Baptist Church - 5-11-2016

Jude 12-13

Introduction:

A.  We have spent a lot of time looking at these “creepers” who war against the faith once delivered.  God’s people love the Word of God and would never intentionally do injustice to or malign it.  These people who destroy the doctrine of infallibility and inerrancy of the Scripture are enemies of God’s Word and, therefore, enemies of God.  We do not contend with good, godly people who love the Lord and His Word.

B.  The Holy Spirit takes a couple of verses to give to us a vivid description of these wolves in sheep’s clothing that the Bible prophesied. **Matthew 7:15-23  The Bible tells of their coming and then says that we can know them by the spiritual fruit that they bear or a lack of bearing.  The fruit that the Holy Spirit brings forth is the same in every believer.

Ephesians 5:18-21  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;  (19)  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;  (20)  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;  (21)  Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Galatians 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  (23)  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

C.  Three types of people normally visit a local church:

1.  The Casual Seeker:

a)  These are looking for nothing and will not stay, even if they find something.  By something, I am not speaking of entertainment for many of them are looking for that.  By something, I am not speaking of sermonettes that do not offend or help a lost sinner to come to Christ.  By something, I am talking about the Word of God.

b)  Since good churches are Biblically oriented instead of seeker-sensitive oriented, first time visits by casual seekers are often last time visits.  Over the years, I have seen so many come and go.  They come one time and, during the service, they either look bored and disinterested or like a fish out of water.  Some have actually gotten up and left before the preaching even started.  These harm only themselves.

2.  The Committed Seeker:

a)  These are looking for a good, fundamental, Bible believing church.  These are not looking for some light sermon nor do they have a need to be entertained.  These are looking for a church that will give them the help that they need from the Word of God that will enable them to live for Christ in this present, evil world. 

b)  These care about what we preach; these care about for missions; these want to find a church where they can fit in and get involved; these love the Lord and the Bible and, therefore, become the heart and soul of the church.  These are truly “pearls of great price!”

3.  The Self-Serving Seeker:

a)  These are looking for a church where they can be somebody.  They are not looking for a large church where there are a lot of “somebodies” already because they will have to come in on the ground level of the “hierarchy” of the church. 

b)  They are not seeking a church with their particular theology because they have none!  They cannot agree with anyone, much less the Bible.  They are not joining a church, they want to find a church that will join them.  They will try to cause the church to change its doctrine and way of doing things to align with what they like.

D.  These are “spots in your feasts of Charity.”  Not meals that are eaten at the church but feasts of charity.  That is the uniform love that God’s people have for one another.  That is the enjoyment of God’s people as they gather in the church.  We feast upon that brotherly love that permeates our church.  It thrills my soul to come to Temple Baptist Church and watch our people come in!  These creepers are like spots. Spots are only noticeable to those who are observant! 

1.  “These are spots”  In our feasts of charity, these “spots” stand out because they do not fit in.  They may like us but they do not love us.  If you love someone, you desire to be around them.  If you love someone, you want to be a part of them and they a part of you.  They are arrogant!  They feast without fear.

2.  “Clouds they are without water”  In our feasts of charity, these “spots” stand out because they are counter-productive.  They give the hope of rain but never produce.  Instead of helping a church, they are detrimental to the church’s welfare.  They are self-serving; they are divisive; and they do not benefit the congregation.

3.  “Carried about of the winds”  In our feasts of charity, these “spots” stand out because they have no spiritual stability.  You can check up on them and they have probably been in most of the good churches in the area.  Good people have a way of sticking in good churches.  These are like the large, green flies that are hard to swat because they never light anywhere for long.

4.  “Trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots”  In our feasts of charity, these “spots” stand out because they are either fruitless or their fruit does not remain.  They may try to line up or blend in for a while but eventually their true values will show up.  I have watched as people come in, try to adapt, get pharisaical in their judgment of others, leave, and then lose all of their “water fountain” convictions when they join another church.

5.  “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame”  In our feasts of charity, these “spots” stand out because they are like the waves of the sea that cannot be tamed.  They make a whole lot of noise and put on a pretty good show.  The next time you go to the ocean, you may notice that the waves have not changed.  They are just the same as when you left them the last time.  Nothing deters them; nothing touches them; they will never conform to the beliefs of the church and they eventually stir some kind of controversy up. 

6.  “wandering stars”  In our feasts of charity, these “spots” stand out because they are wandering stars.  Wandering stars are never found in the same place.  When they “shine” and no one pays the proper attention to them, they find another place to shine.  By the way, the stars do not shine in the day time and, when a church is functioning in the “light” of God’s Word, the stars become invisible.  If they cannot change or rule in the church, they will eventually move on to some other poor, unsuspecting congregation.  These have an unteachable spirit as they know more than the pastor and are more intelligent than the membership of the church.  They cannot be helped, therefore, if they cannot rule or change the church, they move on!

And Perished In The Gainsaying Of Core

Temple Baptist Church - 5-11-2016

Jude 11

Introduction:

A.  In our verse, we find the mention of three Old Testament men with three doctrinal issues that continue to plague fundamental churches in our day.  Three areas where men depart from the Bible to their own destruction as well as to the destruction of others who follow them.

b.  The Way of Cain was a false salvation based upon on human merit.

c.  The Error of Balaam was the wickedness of using religion as a means of making money.

d.  The Gainsaying of Core (Korah in the Old Testament) was personal pride and a thirst for power and position that caused him to question and stand against the authority that God gave to Moses.

B.  Before I take a look at the gainsaying of Core, I find it interesting that all three verbs used in this verse are in the past tense! 

1.  Gone, ran, and perished.  God has pronounced the eternal judgment of these “creepers” before they die.  Verse 11 begins with the word “woe” or the cause of great destruction or misery. 

2.  Woe to the man who thinks that God accepts his person and that he is good enough to go to heaven. 

3.  Woe to the man who uses the things of God for personal gain. 

4.  Woe to the man who stands against God’s man and his God given biblical authority.

C.  The gainsaying of Core or Korah is found in Numbers, chapter 16.  Actually, there were 253 men involved in the mutiny that took place.  There were 250 princes and three named men: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.  In Jude, only Korah or Core is mentioned as he became the ultimate spokesman for the rebellion that took place. 

D.  Moses and Aaron were God appointed men!  Neither sought the position that God gave to them.  The pastor of a church is just a man but he is a God appointed man. 

E.  Korah was the great grandson of Levi and one of the Kohathites. 

F.  The Gainsaying of Core: what did Korah do that provoked the Lord to judge him? 

1.  Korah was dissatisfied with the position that God had given to him. 

a.  Korah didn’t get his “little red wagon.”  In Numbers, chapter 7, the princes of Israel offered 6 wagons with oxen to the Lord for the service of moving the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.  Moses gave 2 wagons to the sons of Gershon (carried the tent, coverings, and hangings) for their service and 4 wagons to the the sons of Merari (carried the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels) for their service. 

b.  The sons of Kohath or the Kohathites carried the furniture of the Tabernacle after the priests had covered them.  No wagons were given to them as they were to carry the furniture of the Tabernacle on foot.  Remember the “new cart” fiasco )1 Chronicles 13:7) when David tried to move the Ark of the Covenant (it was to be carried by the priests on foot) but not after “due order” and Uzza died when he put his hand to the Ark to steady it. 

c.  The Kohathites were blessed to carry “the cross” (the Tabernacle’s worship was a beautiful type of the substitutionary death of our Lord Jesus Christ) in the Old Testament as did Simon of Cyrene in the New Testament.

d.  I wonder how many days Korah walked beside of the wagons and wished he could drive one of the.  Korahs are often people who do not get their way.  God calls men that are faithful, busy, fruitful, and malleable. 

d.  Korah was not chosen by God for a position of leadership.  Korah wanted to be equal with Moses and Aaron!  For reasons known only to God, in the Book of Numbers, God set aside Korah and appointed a younger member of the family as the leader of the Kohathites.  Several times in the Old Testament, God set aside the older and chose the younger: Manasseh and Ephraim, Esau and Jacob, etc. 

e.  Korah may not have even been disqualified for the ministry.  God does not call everyone to be a pastor though there are many good, qualified men in churches.

2.  Korah rejected Moses as the appointed leader of Israel. 

a.  Bringing that down to our day, there are universities who reject the biblical order of the local church.  They often use a biblical doctrine to set aside another important biblical doctrine.  The doctrine of the individual priesthood of the believer is a wonderful doctrine.  You no longer need a priest to represent you to God as you now can personally approach Him through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

b.  Here is the twist that these people put upon that doctrine.  Since you represent yourself to God personally, then the pastor has no authority over you and neither does the local church.  They are so wrong on both accounts.

c.  Ephesians 4:11-12  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  (12)  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

d.  He elevated himself to a position of authority and power.  These men were men of position and power but God had, for some reason, set Korah aside and chosen another as head of the Kohathites.  In our day, people—such as Diotrephes—love to have the pre-eminence in the local church.  An unqualified man seeking a qualified job.

3.  Korah withstood God’s man in front of the congregation of Israel.  

a.  Every pastor needs to be approachable but, when there is a disagreement, there is a biblical way to approach him.  The Bible say to rebuke not an elder.  God’s man should be approached privately and the issue settled. 

b.  If the problem is doctrinal or sinful in nature and the pastor will not correct it, then—in the mouth of two or three witnesses—he is to be brought before the church.

c.  1 Timothy 5:19-20  Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.  (20)  Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

4.  Korah paid dearly for his sin of presumption! 

a.  God opened the earth and Korah, Dathan, and Abiram along with their families and all that pertained to them descended alive into the pit and the earth closed over them.  Fire from God devoured the 250 princes.

b.  Many churches have a Korah or a Diotrephes in them.  Normally a church will only have one at a time because they who love preeminence to not like competition!

Mother’s Day

Temple Baptist Church - 5-8-2016

Ephesians 6:1-3

Introduction: 

A.  We have come to one of the most important days of the year, Mother’s Day! 

B.  A time to elevate ladies to the place that the Lord chose for them:  wives and mothers.  Two of the most important jobs in the world.  Many mothers have to work outside jobs but there are no jobs as important as being good wives and mothers. 

C.  We, unfortunately, through the years have lost the true meaning of both manhood and womanhood!  In the midst of today’s confusion, we Bible believers are not the least bit confused.  I know a real woman when I see one.

1.  As the man is the head of the home, you ladies are the heart of the home.  My two mothers were so special.  My mom was the most wonderful mother ever.  She loved her husband, her home, and her kids/grandkids.  Mom put her family above all but her Lord.  When my mom died, I was by her side and bent over her in the hospital and said, “It’s alright, mom, you can go on home.”  I had the privilege to preach funeral. 

2.  After mom’s funeral, I told my mother-in-law that as long as she lived I still had a mom.  She loved me as much as she did her own kids. JActually she loved me more!  I was in the hospital room when she died also and had the privilege to preach her funeral also.

3.  I have been blessed with a wife that is “top of the line.”  She has loved me for the past 54 years and I can look at her this morning and say that I have loved you a little longer than that because I saw her walking down Wilson Street before she ever saw me!  My two sons have the most wonderful gift that God ever gave in their mother.

D.  Everything today is “scrambled eggs” and very little is as it should be.  God made the roles of men and women very distinct and yet complementary!   Some people think that I have placed the women in a sub-par position.  On the contrary, I place women in the Biblical position that God created them for.  Ladies, you are not second class either in the local church or in the home.  God made you special.

E.  Ladies, this is your special day but then everyday should be your special day!  I want to thank and praise our precious ladies here at Temple.  You are the “heart” of our church.  I do not know what we would do without our ladies.  You are irreplaceable!  As my two moms cannot be replaced, you ladies cannot be replaced.  You are special and appreciated.

F.  I want to note two things in our verses for this morning: obey and honour.

1.  Obey your mother.  Because no one on earth desires your well-being like your mother.  She is on your side.  She desires ONLY the best for you.  She is interested in who and what you are.  She desires for you to reach your potential and become who and what you can be.  Your best interest is her prayer to God for you.

2.  Honor your mother.  Because no one on earth could have taken any better care of you!  She was there when you were born! J  She held you to her breast so that you could hear the heartbeat of love, comfort, and safety.  She made sure that you were clean, clothed, and fed.  She was your first teacher, advisor, and counselor.  She backed you, stood up for you, and loved you like no other on this earth.  She was there for you then as she is there for you now.  She is your mother!

G.  If your mother or mother-in-law is alive today, see them or call them.  One day, as with my two mothers, they will be gone and there will only be a grave to adorn.  They are special.

1.  The Wife And Mother Is To Be Loved - Ephesians 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.

2.  The Wife And Mother Is To Be Cherished - Ephesians 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.  (To keep warm or to foster with care-to handle carefully as the weaker vessel.)

3.  The Wife And Mother Is To Be Respected - 1 Kings 2:19  Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.

4.  The Wife And Mother Is To Be Obeyed - Proverbs 6:20   My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

5.  The Wife And Mother Is to Be Honored - 1 Peter 3:7  Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

Ephesians 6:2  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

Exodus 20:12   Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

6.  The Wife And Mother is To Be Praised - Proverbs 31:28-30  Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.  Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.  Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.  (Never take her for granted-she may not always be there.)

A Rock Solid Home

Temple Baptist Church - 4-27-2016

Luke 6:46-49

Introduction: 

A.  We teach our children the little song about the wise man building his house upon a rock and the foolish man building his house upon the sand.  The storms came alike to both with the wise man’s house standing fast and the foolish man’s house falling flat.  I fear that we too often sing a lot of songs that are nothing more than just songs to us.  Their meaning is clear but lost as they fall upon unhearing ears.

B.  The application of these verses that we read concern our building of our homes upon the Word of God.  The houses were built alike, the storms and rain were the same.  Only the foundation was different and made all of the difference.  The Bible speaks about the foundations being destroyed and asks the question, “What can the righteous do?”

C.  A house is no better than its foundation!  On September 19, 1985 at 7:17 AM, an earthquake of a magnitude of 8.1 hit Mexico City. 

1.  Of a population of 18 million, an estimated 10,000 people were killed, and 50,000 were injured. In addition, 250,000 people lost their homes, and property damage amounted to $5 billion. Over 800 buildings crumbled, including hotels, hospitals, schools, and businesses.

2.  Mexico City sits on top of a dried up lake bed which made the ground softer which caused the massive destruction. The expansion of the capitol (Mexico City) and the gradual draining of the lake left the world's largest population center located largely on unconsolidated lake-bed sediments. These soft sedimentary clay deposits amplified the seismic waves. 

3.  The earthquake did tremendous damage because of the inadequate foundations of the buildings.  Many lives may have been saved if proper precautions had been taken when the construction of these buildings took place.  Many times foresight is short while hindsight is 20/20.  No one ever thought that an earthquake would devastate Mexico City. 

D.  In building our homes today, we need to realize some things.

1.  We need to realize that storms will come.  (It rains on the just and the unjust)

2.  We need to realize that our homes will either stand or fall depending upon the foundation.

3.  We need to realize that the Bible has instructed us in the building of our home.

4.  We need to realize what it takes to build a home that will stand.

a)  Building A Home Takes Want – “cometh to me”

b)  Building A Home Takes Wisdom – “heareth my sayings”

c)  Building A Home Takes Willingness – “doeth them”

d)  Building A Home Takes Work – “digged deep”

E.  In the average home today there is:

1.  More fighting than praying

            2.  More Worldly exposure than Scripture

            3.  More Sin than Godliness

            4.  More Strife than Love

            5.  More Excuses than Obedience

            6.  More Complaints than Praises

F.  What does a home need in order to stand!  I want to look at our verses and reverse them for a few minutes.

1.  The Wreck! 

a.  The Wise Man Vs. The Foolish Man!  The mindset that we go into marriages is of great importance and helps greatly in holding the home together.  All marriages have “issues” at times that need to be dealt with and worked out.  One of the reasons that many of our older men and women endured was because they went into the marriage to “tough it out.”

b.  The Wonderful Home Vs. The Wrecked Home.  There is nothing any greater that a wonderful home where the peace of God rules!  A sanctuary to which we can flee from the wickedness, confusion, and turmoil of this present evil world.  There is nothing any more heartbreaking than a wrecked home where there is no peace, trust, or security.

c.  The storms came to both; the rains fell upon both; the flood waters beat vehemently upon both.  I mentioned this earlier but we need to understand that our homes are under constant satanic attack.  Also, we need to understand that two become one and there is a possibility of that one becoming two again.  When one person wants to make a marriage work and the other does not, it may fail.  One home stood while the other fell flat. 

2.  The Word!  In our story, we find two foundations upon which to build our homes.  Rock and Sand! 

a.  God made the marriage to work, not wreck!  His intention was one man, one woman, for one lifetime and gave the guidelines beginning in Genesis 3. 

b.  With the Word of God or Without the Word of God!  If God owns marriage, and He does, then God knows how to make that marriage work.  Each of us have a choice this morning.  We can either obey the Word of God or we can ignore it.  I will take a look at this in a few minutes.

3.  The Work!  The Work was different: one “digged deep” while the other actually laid no foundation at all. 

a.  I believe that each of these two homes were probably constructed of the same material, the same hope, but a different effort that brought about a different end result.

b.  One put as much effort into the foundation as he did the actual structure of the house.  No matter how fine and fancy the house built, if the foundation cracks, the home falls.  One put little or no effort into the foundation but probably as much work into the structure as the other.  It takes both the husband and the wife to make that home work and, if one gives up, then the home will fail regardless of how much the other wants it to work.

4.  The Wisdom!  The Wisdom of building the home upon the right foundation is one of personal choice. 

a.  It must be founded upon the Bible or it may perish.  At this point, let me say that I know of unsaved people who have built their homes outside of the parameters set forth in the Bible and those homes have endured but, in our day, there are more wrecked homes than wonderful ones.

b.  A home MUST be Biblically structured by both the husband and the wife.  I have seen homes fail when the wife wanted the home to be right and the husband did not.  I have seen homes fail when the husband wanted the home to be right and the wife did not.

5.  The Warning!  “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:”

Conclusion:  In order to make a home work, there must be:

a.  An Authoritative Principle: the King James Bible.

b.  An Abiding Presence: the Lord Jesus Christ.

c.  An Atmosphere of Peace: a mutual love and respect.

d.  An Abundance of Prayer: the house that prays together stays together.

e.  An Authentic Praise: the Lord Jesus Christ both glorified and magnified.

f.  An Acceptable Pattern: the order in the home must be Biblical.