Five Steps To Destruction

Five Steps To Destruction 

As God renewed the covenant with Israel in the land of Moab, He gave the people a choice of blessing or cursing (Deuteronomy 29-30). If they would love the Lord, walk in His ways, keep His commandments, statutes, and judgments then the Lord would bless them. Then He says, “But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish” (Deuteronomy 30:17-18a). When people reject the Lord they follow the five steps outlined in this passage.

The heart is the first thing that is turned away. The wise man said, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Jesus taught the heart is like soil that is either hardened with sin, filled with stones that rob nutrition, crowded out with the cares of the world and deceitful desire for riches or the good ground who hears the word of God and understands it growing thereby (Matthew 13). The heart is the first thing Satan seeks to destroy (Acts 5:3) and if he can gain control of the heart then he will have his way.

When the heart is hardened then the ears become dull of hearing. Desire comes from the heart and as the heart turns away from God the ears no longer want to seek the will of God. Paul warned Timothy of those who would “not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Even at this stage many go through the motions of worship but their heart is far from God because their ears are closed (Matthew 15:8).

As the heart hardens and the ears close the feet begin to draw away from God. This is a progressive action as the psalmist described. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful” (Psalms 1:1). Drawing away from God goes from walking to standing to sitting with Satan. This drawing away takes place in the heart. “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15).

The final two stages happen because the heart no longer seeks holiness or the ears righteousness and the feet walk after other gods. Jehovah God is not the object of worship as man begins to reverence himself and his own desires. Worship is the focus we manifest in our lives and the object of our worship is where we find our service. The final stage of destruction is when man serves his own needs and desires rejecting the will of God (Romans 1:16-32; Luke 21:34).

The gods we worship are not carved in stone but in our hearts. Our love is for this world and the charms of temptation that fill our lives with useless pursuits. Some ‘gods’ are good in and of themselves but they are evil gods because they keep our hearts from serving the Lord. Sometimes Satan destroys us not with immorality but with the trinkets of life that keep our eyes off of Jesus. What destroyed the third soil in the parable of the sower was the “desires for other things” (Mark 4:19). There are five steps to destruction and only way for salvation (John 14:6). Which way are you headed?

Not Since The World Began Has This Been Done

Not Since The World Began Has This Been Done

Knowing nothing but darkness his whole life, the man blind from birth now stood before the religious leaders of his day trying to prove his restored eyesight was from the hand of a man called Jesus. The Pharisees grilled the man with questions of doubt unbelieving he was truly blind. Calling his parents they questioned them about their son’s blindness which they confirmed he had been blind from birth. As to how he received his sight they told the Pharisees to ask their son. Demanding a straight answer the Pharisees pressed the man further. The accused began to teach his accusers showing them the power of God which they would not see with their own eyes. He replied, “’Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.’ They answered and said to him, ‘You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?’ And they cast him out” (John 9:32-34).

One man was born blind by a circumstance of nature and a body of men born with physical sight could not see in their hearts the power and wonder of God’s power in Jesus. Clearly evident throughout the ministry of Christ no man would ever deny the miracle performed. When Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11) the miracle was not denied but confirmed when the chief priests and Pharisees said, “What shall we do? For this man works many signs” (John 11:47). Others who were blind were healed (Matthew 11:5; 12:22) along with the mute, lame, sick, diseased, etc. Nothing like this had ever been seen on the scale of Jesus ministry. The blind man of John 9 understood the power of his miracle was not only his sight being restored but the eternal power of God demonstrated through Jesus Christ.

The healing of the blind man was not the first miracle ever done. Creation itself is the evidence of the awesome power of God when he “spoke” everything into existence (Genesis 1). Destroying man with the flood in Genesis 6 shows a power second only to creation. Pharaoh witnessed firsthand the destructive nature of God’s fury (Exodus 7-12) and the Hebrews walked in the midst of God’s grace when they crossed the Red Sea on dry land (Exodus 14). The Bible unfolds page after page of the majestic power of God in His working with man throughout the generations. John confirms the purpose of miracles proving that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and the world itself could not contain the books that would be written of what Jesus did (John 20:30-31; 21:25).

Not since the world began has there been a book that would tell man so much about who he is, where he came from and what lay before him in death. The Bible is the last and final miracle of God and yet most men cannot see His power in this book. Like the Pharisees of John 9 men today cannot deny the evidence of the book yet they deny its message of salvation. It has stood the test of time and will endure until the last day (1 Peter 1:25). The gospel is God’s power (Romans 1:16) and while critics assail its contents the purity of its message remains unchanged for generations.

The blind man saw more than most men. He experienced the grace of God when his eyes were opened and today when our eyes are opened by the word of God we understand the grace of God (Romans 10:17). “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law” (Psalms 119:18).

The Blind Spies

The Blind Spies

Twelve men walked the length of Canaan for forty days spying the cities, the land and the people. They witnessed a place of great beauty and produce. One cluster of grapes had to be carried on a pole between two men. The land impressed them as a land that “flows with milk and honey” (Numbers 13:27). What troubled the hearts of most of the spies were the people that lived in this place of bounty. Of the twelve men sent to spy the land, ten feared the strength of the cities and the people. The cities seemed impregnable. The descendants of Anak (giants) filled the land. The ten spies reported they felt like grasshoppers in the sight of the people. By their words they discouraged the people of Israel (Numbers 13:28-29, 31-33).

Joshua and Caleb were the only spies who believed the land could be conquered. They begged the people to reject the counsel of the ten spies and go at once to take possession of the land (Numbers 13:30). With God’s power they did not need to fear the people because the Lord would fight for them. The seeds of doubt had settled in the hearts of the people and they refused to listen (Numbers 14:1-4). For their rebellion Jehovah God caused the people of Israel to wander in the wilderness for forty years (Numbers 14:34).

Why did ten men see fear and two men see victory? The ten spies did not see what Joshua and Caleb saw. Their hearts were blinded by what they saw with their eyes rather than what they could see with God’s power. Moses had instructed the twelve to see how strong the people were and how difficult the cities would be to conquer (Numbers 13:17-20). The twelve spies were leaders among the people yet ten were blinded to the things that had witnessed in the past few months. Had they forgotten the power of God in Egypt when the Lord brought the plagues upon Pharaoh? How could anyone fail to remember the crossing at the Red Sea? If the Lord was victorious over the nation of Egypt how difficult would it be to conquer this new land?

Joshua and Caleb saw the same giants and fortified cites the ten spies saw but they viewed them as weak because they knew what God could do. “If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, 'a land which flows with milk and honey.' Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them" (Numbers 14:8-9).

We can be like the ten spies when we fail to see how God can work in our lives. The giants of doubt and fear will stand before us and we shrink back with worry and fear not believing that we can overcome. Paul reminds us that nothing is impossible for us if we trust in God. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me … What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? … Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Philippians 4:13; Romans 8:31, 35, 37-39).

Focusing On The Famiy Audio Files

The audio files for "Focusing on the Family" with Max Dawson are being posted to our web site at www.trentonchurchofchrist.com

Brother Dawson has done a superb job of outlining the lessons with the family in mind. Here is a brief outline and overview:

Back to Eden - The pattern for marriage and the family is rooted in Heaven's truth. Jesus took the Jews back to Eden. We must take our children back to Eden. Those contemplating marriage must go back to Eden.

Five Power Points that will Bless your Family - The power of appreciation. The power of example. The power of love. The power of correction. The power of communication.

Helping your Kids become Responsbile Adults - The principle of reinforcement. The application of reinforcement in child rearing.

Five things your Parents must Teach You - You are God's special creation. Some things are absolutely right and absolutely wrong. Your choices have consequences. There is joy in serving Jesus. You are accountable to God.

Will the Real Me Please Stand Up? - Me number one: The me others think I am. Me number two: The me I think I am. Me number three: The me God says I am.

What Dads Teach their Kids about Marriage - You are teaching your kids about the permanence of marriage (or not). You are teaching your kids love and appreciation for a wife (or not). You are teaching your kids about sensitivity to family needs (or not). You are teaching your kids about the need for cooperation in the home (or not). You are teaching your kids about the need for support from other men (or not). You are teaching your kids about the need for God in your home (or not).

Your Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary - We never thought about quitting. We never let anybody mess with our marriage. We were good friends. We worked for harmony and knew our roles and how they worked together. We served God together.

The Autumn of Our Lives - The unchanging nature of God. The remarkable forsight of God. The wonderful blessins of God. The need for commitment to God.

CD's are available free of charge to anyone. Printed outlines and powerpoints can also be requested.

The Right Kind of King

The Right Kind Of King

The nation of Israel was born from a promise to Abram to make of his seed a great nation (Genesis 12:2). Established at Mt. Sinai, Israel would have a troubled beginning drifting forty years through the wilderness before crossing the Jordan to take their place in Canaan. It would be many more years before the first king would sit upon a throne and rule the nation. Only three men would rule over a united kingdom for a period of 120 years: Saul son of Kish, David son of Jesse and finally Solomon son of David. After Solomon’s death the nation of Israel would plunge into a chaos of disharmony and wickedness ending finally in the total destruction of the northern tribes by the hand of the Assyrians and bondage of the southern tribes in Babylon.

Throughout the reigns of the kings who sat upon the throne of the northern kingdom of Israel not one man was righteous. Beginning with Jeroboam the Lord described the rule of the northern kings as evil.  “But you have done more evil than all who were before you, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back” (1 Kings 14:9). Nadab the son of Jeroboam “did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin” (1 Kings 15:26).

“But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up” (1 Kings 21:25). All of the kings of Israel were characterized by the words “And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin” (2 Kings 15:24).

In contrast of the northern kings Judah would enjoy years of peace and prosperity when kings would rule who would follow in the way of God. Like their northern sister, Judah would have evil kings but men like Josiah would govern the nation who would do “what was right in the sight of the Lord, and [walk] in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (2 Kings 22:1-2). The prophet Ahijah had warned Jeroboam the judgment of the king would be whether he would “heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments” (1 Kings 11:38).

David Lanphear observed, “The kings of Judah and Israel are described as either good or evil. The Scriptures don’t tell us much about where they stood on issues like defense, foreign policy, education, the economy, or national debt. Generally, they are described as good or evil because of their allegiance to God or approval of idol worship or sacrificing their children to Moloch… Nations were judged as penitent or wicked based on their obedience to God.” The wise man reminds us that “wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, but what is in the heart of fools is made known. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:33-34).

The right kind of king was one who had a view of God as Creator (Genesis 1:1) and Judge (Ecclesiastes 12:14). Paul exhorted that “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:2).

And Thank You Fathers For All You Do

A Successful Dad

(Selected)

 

I may never come to glory;

I may never gather gold;

Men may count me as a failure

When my business life is told;

But if he who follows after

Shall be manly, I’ll be glad,

For I’ll know I’ve been successful

As a little fellow’s Dad. 

It’s the one job I dream of,

It’s the task I think of most;

If I’d fail that growing youngster

I’d have nothing else to boast;

For though wealth and fame I’d gather

All my future would be sad

If I failed to be successful

As that little fellow’s Dad.

I may never be as clever

As my neighbor down the street;

I may never be as wealthy

As some other men I meet;

I may never have the glory

That some other men have had;

But I’ve got to be successful

As that little fellow’s Dad 

There are certain dreams I cherish

That I’d like to see come true;

There are things I would accomplish

Ere my working time is through;

But the task my heart is set on

Is to guide a little lad;

And to make myself successful

As That little fellow’s Dad.

 

Father

(Selected) 

• 4 years – My daddy can do anything
• 7 years – My dad knows a lot, a whole lot
• 8 years – My father doesn’t quite know everything
• 12 years – Oh well, naturally father doesn’t know everything
• 14 years – Father?  Hopelessly old-fashioned.
• 21 years – Oh that man is out of date. What did you expect?
• 25 years – He knows a little bit about it, but not much.
• 30 years – Must find out what dad thinks about it.
• 35 years – A little patience, let’s get Dad’s meaning first.
• 50 years – What would Dad have thought about it?
• 60 years – My dad knew literally everything
• 65 years – I wish I could talk it over with Dad once more.

A Father’s Prayer

(General Douglas MacArthur) 

Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory. 

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee – and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge. 

Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge.  Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail. 

Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past. 

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously.  Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength. 

Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain.” 

“And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”

Thank You Moms Every One

Before I Was A Mom

(Selected)

Before I was a mom I made and ate hot meals, had unstained clothing and  quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a mom I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a mom I cleaned my house each day and never tripped over toys or forgot words to lullabies. I didn’t worry whether or not my plants were poisonous and never thought about imunizations.

Before I was a mom I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, peed on or pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a mom I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts, my body and my money.

Before I was a mom I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a single grin nor sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn’t stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.  I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a mom.

Before I was a mom I didn’t know the feeling of having my heart outside my body nor how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn’t know the bond between a mother and her child that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a mom I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every ten mintues to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being mom.

I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a mom.