Check Your Self
Faithfullness • Sermon • Submitted
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· 13 viewsAfter receiving consistent warnings from God's servants, the fruit of resisting God's commands is faithlessness -which rejects Gods ways for fruitless (worthless) living.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
I know the part you like to play
How long will you go on this way
Things you do blow my mind
I see you doing it to your own kind
Now you've got babies too
What in the the world is wrong with you
Don't you even care at all
Brothers sisters here my call
Can't you see what your doing is wrong
Why can't we why can't we get along
Check yourself we have got to
Change our ways
Change Our Ways by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly off their Silky Soul album in 1989
Transition To Body- When the LORD God uses the Children of Israel’s faithlessness as a Case Study for a future generation to warn them to Check Yourself
Transition To Body- When the LORD God uses the Children of Israel’s faithlessness as a Case Study for a future generation to warn them to Check Yourself
The intended audience of 2 Kings is those future generations of God’s people who are either in exile and/or who come out of exile
Samaria was captured and the Israelites were carried away to Assyria because:
They sinned against the LORD their God who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt
They feared other gods- v7
They walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel- v8
The walked in the customs the Kings of Israel had practiced- v8
The people of Israel did secretly against the LORD their God things that were not right
They built for themselves high places in all their towns
From watchtowers
To fortified city
They set up for themselves
Pillars
And Asherim on every high hill & under every green tree
They made offerings on all the high places (as the nations did whom the LORD carried away before them
They did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger
Body
Body
Receiving Consistent Warnings From God’s Servants (v13)
Receiving Consistent Warnings From God’s Servants (v13)
13 Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”
Warned-
bind, surround with ropes, i.e., attach ropes around an object so as to confine it
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
admonish, warn, i.e., tell someone of a future happening that is dangerous or an unfavorable circumstance, often with a possible contingency to change the future
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
Illustration: Putting fencing around sheep in order to protect them
Consistent Through Witness Of Spiritual Parents
Consistent From the LORD’s Prophetical Witness
Many times the children are imitating the parents
Illustration: coming to the home to help with issue with child cursing. Whom did they learn that language? Their parents
Not only were the current generation stubborn, but so were their parents
Parents set the example of what it means to be faithful or unfaithful
Illustration: Like father, like son
This is a cautionary for those of us who look down upon or despise the young people or our brothers and sisters in Christ when we forget how we use to behave and beak the LORD’s commandments
19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The assignment of every prophet & seer:
The assignment of every prophet & seer:
Define prophet- communication from God
prophet, i.e., male who speaks or proclaims the message of a deity
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
Illustration: Essence Magazine’s January/February 2021 issue’s celebration of Black Women in Hollywood, highlighting Cicely Tyson her Just As I Am: A Memoir by Cicely Tyson with Michelle Burford
“The United States has never been “one nation under “god” but several nations gazing up at him, dissimilar faces huddled beneath a single flag.”
In these pages, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage for six decades.
Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn for which this book is named. I am a daughter and a mother, a sister and a friend. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams. I am a woman who has hurt as immeasurably as I have loved, a child of God divinely guided by his hand. And here in my ninth decade, I am a woman who, at long last, has something meaningful to say.
Define seer- means of communication
seer, i.e., one who receives and communicates a message from God, and so has the role of a prophet, possibly with some focus on the visual aspect of a communication from God
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
Illustration: Sometimes the pastor/preacher gets on last nerve- especially when say you are wrong
Biblical Illustrations: Prophets in the book of 1st & 2nd Kings who encouraged as well as warned the Kings & the people
Nathan confronts David for his sin
Ahijah denounces Solomon & promotes Jeroboam 1 Kings 11:29-39
Man of God confronts Jeroboam- 1 Kings 13:1-10
The prophet’s disobedience- 1 Kings 13:11-32
Elijah- 1 Kings 17-18- Elijah confronts Ahab
Micaiah prophesies against Ahab- 1 Kings 22:13-28
Elijah denounces Ahaziah- 2 Kings 1:1-4
Elisha 2 Kings 6:12
12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
My servants the prophets
Illustration: Members Trying to tighten up the pastor saying he or she works for the church. Not exactly, I think not
The pastor works for the church?
Not people pleasers
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
Pastor/preachers ultimately serve the LORD!
Pastor/preachers ultimately serve the LORD!
(
Receiving Consistent Warnings From God’s Servants (v13)
Receiving Consistent Warnings From God’s Servants (v13)
)
Resisting God’s Commands Produces Faithlessness (v14)
Resisting God’s Commands Produces Faithlessness (v14)
14 But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God.
listen-
listen-
hear, i.e., use the perception of hearing with the ears to process information (Ps 44:2[EB 1]); (nif) be heard
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
Stubborn-
stubborn, make stiff, harden, i.e., be unyielding and resisting in an event; or lack humility before a superior
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
Illustration: “A Hard Head Makes a Soft Behind”!
Keep my Commandments
Statutes:
Illustration: When follow the road signs or at least when we are speeding and see or are approaching the State Patrol Vehicle parked on the side of the expressway- we slow down
In accordance with all the Law
Define Law
For Those Will Not Listen
For Those Will Not Listen
9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
All the Law that commanded your fathers:
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
(
Receiving Consistent Warnings From God’s Servants (v13)
Receiving Consistent Warnings From God’s Servants (v13)
Resisting God’s Commands Produces Faithlessness (v14)
Resisting God’s Commands Produces Faithlessness (v14)
)
Rejecting God’s Regulations For Worthless Living (v15)
Rejecting God’s Regulations For Worthless Living (v15)
15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.
Despise-
reject, i.e., be in a state of limiting or avoiding an association (Lev 26:15); (nif) despised, rejected, i.e., pertaining to limiting or avoiding association (Isa 54:6; Jer 6:30+), note: in some contexts a covenant or marriage association;
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
Statutes-
regulation, decree, statute, ordinance, i.e., a clear communicated prescription of what one should do
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
False-
be worthless, useless, i.e., to lack value
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
be proud, i.e., have an improper haughtiness as a moral failure, with a focus that the object of one’s pride is worthless and of no value, implying a trust in said objects (Ps 62:11[EB 10]+); 4. LN 31.8–31.13 (hif) fill with false hopes, i.e., mislead a person to a false view or opinion and so have an empty, worthless hope
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
idol, i.e., a fashioned object with a focus on its lack of value (Dt 32:21); 2. LN 65.30–65.39 meaninglessness emptiness, futility, uselessness, i.e., what is of no use on the basis of being futile and lacking in content
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
(
Receiving Consistent Warnings From God’s Servants (v13)
Receiving Consistent Warnings From God’s Servants (v13)
Resisting God’s Commands Produces Faithlessness (v14)
Resisting God’s Commands Produces Faithlessness (v14)
Rejecting God’s Regulations For Worthless Living (v15)
Rejecting God’s Regulations For Worthless Living (v15)
)
But Beloved I cannot faithfully preach the gospel without giving you some good news
But Beloved I cannot faithfully preach the gospel without giving you some good news
Church there is some good news in the text today
Church there is some good news in the text today
The text says in verse 15…
The text says in verse 15…
15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.
But the Message bible translates this text as
15 They were contemptuous of his instructions, the solemn and holy covenant he had made with their ancestors, and of his repeated reminders and warnings. They lived a “nothing” life and became “nothings”—just like the pagan peoples all around them. They were well-warned: God said, “Don’t!” but they did it anyway.
Warning as an act of God’s patient grace
Warning as an act of God’s patient grace
1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
As I prepare to close, I am reminded of…
Transition To Close- Something that is fake or false
Transition To Close- Something that is fake or false
Change My Ways (Kodak Black)
I need a baby to keep me sedated
I need to change the lil ways I be thinkin'
I can't keep runnin' my people, I'm crazy
I can't keep goin' to jail, that's fugazi
Fugazi is a slang word which refers to something that is fake or damaged beyond repair. It may refer to: Fugazi, a post-hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C. Fugazi (EP), the debut EP by the band of the same name.
During the Vietnam War, soldiers would use fugazi to refer to a situation that was messed up. ... Instead, they argue that fugazi originated as an amalgamation of the name flame fougasse, which was a type of improvised explosive, one that was used during the war.
3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Close- When Jesus Proclaimed good news to the poor
Close- When Jesus Proclaimed good news to the poor
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
Meaning of the poor in Luke 4:18
Meaning of the poor in Luke 4:18
to being thrust on divine resources, poor. At times the ref. is not only to the unfavorable circumstances of these people from an economic point of view; the thought is also that since they are oppressed and disillusioned they are in special need of God’s help, and may be expected to receive it shortly
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 896.
The Good Shepherd’s fencing around his pasture and entrance through the gate
The Good Shepherd’s fencing around his pasture and entrance through the gate
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.