Precious in the sight of the Lord...

       The Word of God tells us in Psalm 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Today we laid to rest a dear saint of God. He was one of our two deacons and the oldest member of our church. On Tuesday, he was absent from the body and present with the Lord.

       He is one of a handful of people in my life that I knew well who has gone to be with the Lord. He was  an encouragement to us and an example of faithfulness to the Lord. Until he became too weak to attend our services, we knew right where he would be come Sunday morning.

     One of the last Sundays he was able to attend, I remember him standing and with a smile and gleam in his eyes, he quoted 1 Corinthians 13:12. We had been talking about the soon coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and he said...

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I am known"


       On Tuesday, he saw the Creator of all things, face to face. The first few verses of John chapter 1 tells us that Christ was in the beginning with God and that all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.

     Not only did Jesus Christ create all things, he sustains all things. If that wasn't enough, He came to this earth, was born of a virgin, lived a perfectly sinless life and at the appointed time died for the sins of His people. Jesus Christ is the Savior...and my dear brother in Christ who was 84 years old saw his Savior face to face.

    For him, faith is no more. He has no need of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. He has seen Christ. My dear Mother-in-love, Vivian, saw the Lord face to face a little over a year ago. These dear Christians know what Christ looks like. I can't fathom that! They don't see in part any longer...they are not looking through a glass darkly.

     We mourn because we miss our loved ones, but not in the same way the world mourns. We don't want them back, they are where they belong. They ran their race. They finished their course. Now they are in the presence of the One who became their sin and died so they might live.

1Thessalonians 4:13-18
13   But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which  are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 
14   For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 
15   For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16   For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18   Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

     One day, we who trust in finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross of Calvary for our salvation, will see Him face to face as our loved ones have.   Even so...Come Lord Jesus!  

Husbands, love your wives...

                Why did Adam choose to sin and eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? The Bible tells us that Eve was deceived. She was tricked into eating the fruit. Adam was not. He willing chose spiritual death in order to be with his wife. Why? I would imagine that only he could answer that. One thing I have noticed all these years later is that men, who have been blessed with a wife, sometimes do the same thing. In some cases they choose to be less spiritual minded in order to be with their wives.

                I have seen men who believed strongly in certain doctrines, yield to their wives and attend a church that held to different doctrines because it offered what she perceived to be better programs for the children. I have seen men who strongly believed they shouldn’t observe certain holidays, give in and observe the holidays, with resistance at first, but later come to enjoy the celebration of those holidays because is was something the wife loved. I have seen men who were strong Christians give up their long time Christian friends because their wives felt intimidated being around them.     Paul the Apostle was right…

1 Corinthians 7:33    But he that is married careth for the things that are of the

                                          world, how he may please his wife.

                Why do we men want to please our wives? I think its pretty simple. We do so because we love them, even if it at times means a spiritual set back. Yes, we love our wives. But do we love our wives as we should?  Do we love our wives even as Christ also loved the church?

Ephesians 5:25-29

25   Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26   That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27   That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

28   So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

29   For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth  and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

                We are to love our wives even as Christ loved the church. I do not take Ephesians 5:25  as a suggestion. Rather, I take it as a command. I am to love Sarah as Christ loves His bride, the church. How does Christ love the church?

                First of all, He gave himself for it. Not only did He lay down His physical life for it willingly, he daily gives of Himself to provide for its needs. Why does He daily give Himself to meet the churches needs?  He does so in order to set the church apart or sanctify it. Not only does He set it apart from everything else, but He also cleanses it by washing it with the word of God.

                This morning, as I was reading the word of God, this question was impressed upon my heart. Do I love Sarah even as Christ loves His church? Do I give myself for her? Do I set her apart from all others? Do I cleanse her with the word of God? 

                That reminds me of  John 13:1-15  When Christ was with His disciples observing the Passover feast, He wrapped a towel around his waist and began to wash their feet with water. Peter objected thinking that Christ shouldn’t be washing his feet. Christ told him that if He didn’t wash his feet then Peter had no part with Him. Peter  then wanted to be washed from head to toe. Christ told Peter that he didn’t need a full bath, but only to have his feet washed. He was showing Peter that once a person was saved, they didn’t need to be saved again, they needed to be cleansed once in a while to get rid of the sin that tends to get on us as we walk through this life.

                That is what Christ does for His church. He cleanses it with His word. That is what I am to do with my wife. I am to help her stay clean from sin, by washing her, soaking her, immersing her in the word of God.

                I do give myself for her. Every day I go to work to provide for her physical needs. I provide a roof over her head, money for clothes, food, water, electricity. I give her meaningful touches throughout the day. I do my best to provide for her every physical need. However, I have to ask myself, do I give of myself every day to provide for her spiritual needs?  Do I provide her time where she can sit alone quietly and read the word of God? Do I spend time reading the word of God with her and to her?  Giving myself for her does not only apply to meeting her physical needs. It also applies to meeting her spiritual needs.

                Do I set her apart from all others and help her grow spiritually. I spend time studying the word of God so I can teach those who are in my Sunday school, but do I spend time teaching my wife? I would venture to say that she doesn’t know what I am teaching most of the time because I never talk to her about it.  She should be my priority when it comes to teaching the word of God.

                Am I helping my wife stay clean of her sins by washing her…soaking her…immersing her in the word of God? Not as I should, but Lord willing, there will be improvements in that area as well as all the other areas where I fall short.

                Why does Christ do those things for the church? It is because He truly loves her and wants to present her to Himself a glorious church. Why should I love my wife even as Christ loved the church? So my wife will be glorious to me and holy. God tells us to be holy because He is holy. How wonderful it is to help your wife be holy.

                I have to admit, it is an intimidating thought to teach your wife when in your mind, your wife is your spiritual equal. Sure, teaching my children is easy, after all they don’t have a good understanding of the word of God yet. My wife, on the other hand, has a wealth of knowledge and I think to myself, “what could I possibly teach her?”


               Something she said to me the other day started me thinking about this. We had just finished the book of Nehemiah in our evening family Bible time, and Sarah said she understood it better than she ever had before. All I did was read about 15 verses each night and talk about them and the Lord used that to help my wife better understand a book of the Bible. It was not anything special I did. It was not some elegant sermon I prepared. It was the Holy Spirit using me to open Sarah’s understanding a little more.

  

                I have noticed something else. The married men I have known who have been spiritually strong have been those who have spiritually strong wives. The married men I have known who have been weaker spiritually have had spiritually weaker wives.  As goes the wife, so goes the husband.  When Sarah and I married, we became one flesh. Yes, we are equally responsible before God for our own personal walk with Him, yet God has brought us together to help each other in our walk with Him. By nourishing her spiritually with the word of God, I am nourishing myself.

                I am to love my wife the same way that Christ loves His church. I am to love my wife as myself. I won’t starve myself, so why would I starve my precious wife on the word of God? I shouldn’t!  I should nourish her on the word of God. I should give her time alone in a quiet place where she can read the word of God and grow by it. I should read the word of God with her and share with her what the Lord has been pleased to reveal to me concerning it.  If I really want to live a strong spiritual life, then I must see to it that my wife is nourished with the word of God.  

                I am to cherish her in the same way Christ cherishes His bride, the church. The stronger she is in spirit, the stronger in spirit I will become. I honestly believe that I have the best marriage of all, past, present and future.  It is all because of God’s work in our lives. God has given me a godly wife in Sarah. My goal in this life is to love her even as Christ loved the church. Not too long ago, the Lord showed me that I was not teaching my children as I should concerning the things of God. Now He has shown me that I have not been teaching my wife from the word of God as I should. 


              By His grace and mercy, I hope to be faithful to His word and obey His command to love Sarah as Christ loves His bride, the church.


             To my wife, Sarah, I would like to say, I love you as best as I know how and Lord willing, I will learn how to love you as Christ loves the church. I want to be faithful to your soul in doing all I can to help you grow spiritually. I want to be faithful to cleanse you with "the washing of water by the word." I desire to help you be holy as our God is Holy. I have told you over and over how thankful I am that it pleased God to give you to me and me to you. You are beautiful and have reached the height of pulchritude in my eyes. Thank you for kind patience with me as our Lord has brought me to these truths. In my humble opinion, I am blessed above all men because I have been blessed to be your husband. Thank you for the best 11+ years of my life. 
             
             None of these thoughts would have ever happened were it not for the Lord Jesus Christ putting them on my mind. In the past year, the Lord has shown me much. To God be the glory! Great things He hath done!
            

And there arose another generation...

                My Grandparents lived through the Great Depression and WWII. I’m not sure what that generation was labeled, but they gave birth to my parent’s generation. My parents are Baby Boomers…they were born in the Baby Boom Generation. Then of course, their generation gave birth to my generation which was labeled Generation X. My generation has given birth to Generation Y…Lord willing, Sarah and I will add yet another member to Generation Y come October.

                With each succeeding generation, we see changes in the way in which life is lived. There are changes in lifestyles, changes in values, changes in religious practices, changes in morality. My Grandparent’s generation was more conservative and hard working than my generation. Technology has advanced to the point that actual physical labor is not as necessary. Consider the way the Ford Model T was assembled and the way the new Ford Explorer is assembled.

                My Grandparent’s generation was a more value oriented generation. The Baby Boomer generation began to turn from their parents values. The following generation, my generation, has continued the downward spiral of poor values and morals. What will it be like when my children’s generation reaches adulthood?

                With each succeeding generation, our nation has moved farther away from God. We are following in the footsteps of Israel of old.

                Our text this morning will be found in Judges chapter 2. Before we get into our text, we need to understand the context of what is going on. To understand, we must go back to Israel’s start. Remember how they were slaves in Egypt and they cried out to God because of their situation. God heard their cries and raised up Moses to lead them out of Egypt.

                Remember all the miracles that God performed on their behalf as He brought them out. Remember how God had brought them out with a strong hand. The Egyptians gave them clothing, money, possessions, and animals. Remember how God parted the Red Sea and they walked across on dry land. Remember how they were thirsty and came to some water that was undrinkable. God told Moses to throw a certain tree into the water and it became good to drink.

                Remember when they were on the edge of the Promised Land and they sent out 12 spies to survey the land. Two said, with God on our side we can take it! Ten said we are like grasshoppers, we will be crushed. The people listened to the report of the ten and in doing so stirred the wrath of God. For the next 40 years they wandered in a barren desert. Remember how God provided mana (light bread) from heaven and water from a rock. Remember how their clothes never wore out. On and on we could go.

                As the life of Moses was coming to an end, God raised up Joshua (one of the two spies who said they could take the land) to be the next leader of Israel. He lead them into the promised land. Remember, toward the end of his life,  it was Joshua who said…

Joshua 24:15  And it if seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

                Shortly after this, Joshua died. Israel was without a leader. They had followed God while under the leadership of Moses. They had followed God while under the leadership of Joshua. Now what will they do? Turn with me to the book of Judges chapter 1.

Judges 1:1-2

1         Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

2        And the Lord said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

                Joshua is now gone and things are looking good for Israel. They have started by seeking God’s direction. God has told them what to do and they obey. Things go well for Israel as long as they are obeying God. The first 20 verses of Judges 1 show the prosperity they enjoy as a result of their obedience. Notice what happened in verse 21.

Judges 1:21  And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.

                God had told Israel to drive the inhabitants out of the land and not to intermix with them. In some cases, God told them to completely destroy certain inhabitants. Little by little, Israel became lax in their obedience to God.

Judges 1:27  Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants.

Judges 1:29  Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites.

Judges 1:30  Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol.

Judges 1:31  Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helfah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:

Judges 1:33  Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath;

                Do you see what is happening? One after another, Israel is not obeying God. What was the result of their disobedience?

Judges 2:1-4

1         And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

2        And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their alters: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?

3        Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

4        And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

                No longer would God go before Israel to drive out their enemies. Their enemies would be as thorns in their sides and their gods would be a snare to Israel. Verses 6 through 9 reminded the people of how they had followed God during the days of Joshua, but now that he was gone, they were not obeying God.

                The verse that I really want us to focus on this morning is verse 10 of chapter 2.  Read it with me…

Judges 2:10  And also all that generation where gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

                After the 1^st generation of Israel to come into the Promised Land had died, there arose another generation. I’m not sure exactly how many generations it may have been. Possibly the very next generation, or maybe a few generations after…but the point is there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel.

                Somewhere along the way, over the course of time, one or two generations failed to teach their sons and daughters.

                Moses had instructed the first generation coming out of Egypt…

Deuteronomy 4:9   Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy son’s sons.

                Somewhere along the way, a generation failed!  Do you understand the importance of this? All it takes is one generation.

                In Judges 2:11-13 Israel (the generation that knew not God nor the works He had done) forsook God and served other gods.

Judges 2:11-13

11      And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

12     And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

13     And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

                It began with simple disobedience…not driving out the inhabitants of the land. Then they settled down with and intermarried with them. They didn’t teach their children. After time, they served other gods and turned to idol worship. One generation, Gentlemen. One generation, Ladies. All it takes is one generation to lay aside their God given responsibility to teach their children and there will arise another generation that knows not God.

Judges 3:5-7

3        And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:

4        And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

5         And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

                Because Israel forsook God and served other gods, turning to idolatry, God’s anger was kindled against them. God raised up the other inhabitants of the land over Israel and they would put Israel under bondage. After a while, Israel would cry out to God and repent of their sinfulness. God would hear their cries and raise up a judge who would deliver them from their bondage and lead them in the ways of God again. As long as that judge was alive, Israel would serve God. However, when the judge died, they would return to worshipping false gods. Over and over throughout the book of judges you will find this cycle repeating again and again.

Judges 2:18-22

18     And then the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

19     And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

20    And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;

21     I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:

22    That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.

                As God gave Moses the 10 Commandments, He instructed Israel that they should have no other gods before Him…

Exodus 20:1-5

1         And God spake all these words, saying,

2        I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3        Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4        Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5         Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

                Failure to heed God and obey Him does not simply affect us. It can be far reaching even to the next several generations that follow us. As children of the living God, we need to take heed to the Word of God. It was written for our learning…

Romans 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

                God, through Moses, warned the nation of Israel over and over not to forget Him and to teach their children of all God had done.

Deuteronomy 6:4-25

⁴Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

⁶And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 

⁷And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

⁸And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.  

⁹And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

¹⁰And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,  

¹¹And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;   

¹²Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.  

¹³Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

¹⁴Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; ¹⁵(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

¹⁶Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

¹⁷Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

¹⁸And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers.  

 ¹⁹To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.

²⁰And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?

²¹Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:

²²And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:

²³And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.  

²⁴And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. 

²⁵And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

                Another place, where a similar warning is given by Moses to the nation of Israel, is found in Deuteronomy chapter 8. Read it…Consider it.

                What can we learn from this?  Simply that it only takes one generation not being taught for a people to turn from God. No doubt those men of the second and third generations of Israel that came up out of Egypt thought their children knew…they assumed their children knew of God and how He had delivered them out of Egypt. They failed to heed God’s warnings.

                It has been said that those who do not learn from History are doomed to repeat it. If we do not learn from the Word of God and pay attention to what happened to Israel, we will repeat their sins.

                What is happening in the United States today? We, as a nation, have turned from God. We have turned to worshiping the idols of money, success, fame, power. We have wicked leaders in our government and our nation is crumbling around us. Why is that?  Because somewhere down the line one generation failed to teach it's children.

                How can we apply what we have heard today to our lives?

Deuteronomy 4:9  Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons and thy sons’ sons;

                For Christians, the message is simple…Never get away from the Cross of Jesus Christ. It is the foundation upon which our faith and our lives are built. We must never forget that!  We must teach our children of Jesus Christ the perfect Lamb of God. We must show them the cross. We must show them that they are sinners in need of a Savior.

                Don’t think for one moment that it is enough just to take them to Sunday School and Church. Our nation has been so saturated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we assume every knows of Christ. We assume that since our children live in our homes and go to church with us that they know of Christ. We as parents and grandparents are responsible to teach our children at home.  That is where it is….at home!

                We cannot depend solely on the Sunday school teacher and pastor to teach our children. They should be a supplement to what we have already taught them at home. God holds us responsible for our children. We are to teach them of Christ and show them the cross…for without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins. The only thing that could ever or will ever satisfy God is the shed blood of His Son.

                Isaiah tells us, “He shall see the travail of His soul and be satisfied…”  Some here have already raised your children. You are not through. You are to have a presence in the life of your grandchildren and teach them of Christ.

                Those of us who are currently raising our children are responsible before a Holy God (especially  the fathers) to teach our children of Christ…to point them to Calvary. We use the word of God to show them their sin and their need of a Savior.  We show them that Jesus is the only way of salvation.  We must teach our children!

Do we want to be responsible for raising up another Godless generation? I think not!  We want to raise up a godly generation who loves the Lord and worships Him in spirit and in truth.

Let us pray that God would brand this truth onto our hearts and strengthen us and equip us for the task at hand…the task of raising up a godly generation.