|
Sermon: Final Exam
(preparation for the Lord's Supper)
printer-friendly
MP3
MP3-2018
MP3-2022
While in college, I was
taking a Health class for 3 college credits. It was a required class
for graduation. One day, upon arriving to take the class, I was shocked
to find out a major exam was being given. The results of the exam would
be considered a major portion of our quarter grade. I was not ready.
No one had told me about any test.
I had not been prepared. I
had been taken totally by surprise. I felt helpless; there was nothing
I could do. I felt so bad, being caught unawares, I cancelled the class
until the next quarter.
Such was the case with 5 of
the 10 virgins we read about in Matthew 25. Let’s turn there and read.
Matthew 25:1-13
1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which
took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh;
go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps
are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us
and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were
ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to
us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the
Son of man cometh.
So, like myself in that
college class, these 5 virgins were caught by surprise. They knew the
bridegroom was coming someday, they just failed in their preparation.
Maybe if they had just
examined themselves along the way, they would have known their lamps
were growing empty.
Well, we have an examination
coming up on our calendars. It is called the Passover/Lord's Supper.
Let us read the notice of exam…
Turn to 1
Corinthians 11:23-29
23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you,
That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this
is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped,
saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as
ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the
Lord's death till he come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the
Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and
drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
Verses 27 and 29 concern a
number of people and some have even refrained from taking the Lord's
Supper because of a lack of understanding of these scriptures. They
feel that if they have ANY sin in their lives, they are somehow unworthy
to take the bread and wine. If this were true, none of us could take
those symbols, for we all have sin in our lives, we are working to
overcome sin and are subject to sin, as long as we are human.
Verse 28 says that we are to
examine ourselves and then (clearly
boldly and with confidence) eat
that bread and drink that wine. What we are examining ourselves to find
out; to confirm is whether we are in the salvation process. We enter
this process when God calls us (John 6:44) to repentance; we are
baptized and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands (Hebrews
6). We stay in this process for the rest of our life till death or the
return of Christ. We can never allow ourselves to leave or fall away
from this process if we are to ever be in the Kingdom of God.
Luke 9:62
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
The salvation process has
several elements important to each firstfruit Christian:
It is a commitment to a way
of Christian life in which one is actively:
1) keeping the Law and
commandments.
2) manifesting
the Principles of God which the Law points to (Galatians 5:22-23).
3) overcoming sin...making progress...stopping the sin process before it
begins...controlling the mind…being repentant.
4) becoming more like Jesus Christ.
5) going on to perfection (Hebrews 6)
6) responding to your specific Godly Calling (God calls each member to a specific place and to specific duties and/or
offices). This includes duties
pertaining to the first commission of spreading the gospel and the
second commission of feeding the flock.
7) maintaining this process at the return of Jesus Christ.
8) having absolute trust in God and Jesus Christ.
So my purpose today, and I
know you are way ahead of me on this, is to
Examine yourself. Prepare for God’s Final exam.
Before we proceed into just
how we examine ourselves, a few more words about the foolish virgins.
Someone contacted me the
other day [when I first gave this
sermon] upset that the virgins
were not given a second chance; after all they went to buy oil as the
wise virgins told them……..or did they?
Turn back to verse 9 of
Matthew 25 and notice what is said...
Matthew 25:9 ---(the
foolish virgins had asked oil of the others)
But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us
and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Is this something they could
have actually done? Look at Verse 6:
Matthew25:6
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go
ye out to meet him.
It was midnight. The markets
were not open. Notice now verses 10 and 11…
Matthew 25:10-11
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were
ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
There is nothing here
indicating they actually bought the oil. Remember this is a physical
parable and the physical part made sense to them. It had to. If a
parable does not make full sense on the physical side, the audience
would be lost and totally miss the spiritual side (speaking
here of those with the understanding to see the spiritual side).
In fact, the physical side confirms the things we glean from the
spiritual side of the parable. The wise virgins were showing the
foolish virgins the absurdity of their request.
It is also absurd in the
Spiritual sense. If Christ is in the sky and we can see Him, clearly it
is too late to seek the Spirit of God.
1 Peter 4: 17-19
17. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God:
and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not
the gospel of God?
18. And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and
the sinner appear?
19. Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit
the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful
Creator.
So, we see the need to be
examining ourselves. Question is:
Just when do we do this
examining?
Turn to 2
Corinthians 13 and verse 5 (Paul
concerned that the Corinthians had been deceived)
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.
Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye
be reprobates?
Paul challenged the Corinthians to “examine themselves as to whether
they are in the faith. He says, “Prove yourselves.”
In doing so, he employs the
present tense for the verbs “examine” and “prove” indicating that such
examination was to be an on-going activity!
We are to continually examine
ourselves.
This naturally raises 3
questions we will discuss throughout the rest of this sermon.
1) Why should we examine
ourselves?
2) By what standard should we
examine ourselves?
3) What sort of questions
should we be asking ourselves?
Let us answer these questions
one by one…
…and as we do so please
understand this. No one but you and Christ can judge you on these
things.
These things we are about to
discuss are very private things for your prayers and meditations before
the throne of God.
1) Why should we examine
ourselves?
a) To determine if Jesus
Christ is in us...
John 14:21-23
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth
me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love
him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt
manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my
words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make
our abode with him.
b) To determine if we
really know ourselves…
Romans 6:16-22
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye
yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey;
whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have
obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of
righteousness.
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your
flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and
to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to
righteousness unto holiness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from
righteousness.
21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed?
for the end of those things is death.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have
your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
We know ourselves by looking at what we serve, sin or righteousness.
2) By what standard should
we examine ourselves?
a) Not by the estimate of
self.
1 Corinthians 4:1-4
1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and
stewards of the mysteries of God.
2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you,
or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he
that judgeth me is the Lord.
b) By the standard of
Jesus Christ and His Word.
2 Corinthians 10:18
For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord
commendeth.
2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every
one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath
done, whether it be good or bad.
John 12:48
He that rejecteth me, and receiveth
not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken,
the same shall judge him in the last day.
3) What sort of questions
should we be asking ourselves?
a) Am I keeping the
commandments?
John 14:21
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me:
and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him,
and will manifest myself to him.
b) Am I abiding in His
word?
John 8:31
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in
my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
c) Do I love my brethren
like Christ loved me?
John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I
have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love
one to another.
1 John 3:14-19
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the
brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no
murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for
us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need,
and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love
of God in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but
in deed and in truth.
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our
hearts before him.
d) Am I bearing fruit—manifesting
the principles of God?
John 15:6-8
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is
withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are
burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be
my disciples.
We
manifest the power of the Holy Spirit in the form of Godly principles such as
love, joy, peace, forgiveness, kindness, compassion, honesty, service,
excellence, longsuffering and the like. When we do these things, we
grow in the character of Christ, while at the same time being a light to
the World. People see Christ in us when we manifest one of these
principles of God---fruits of the Spirit.
e) Am I praising God?
Hebrews 13:15-16
15 By him therefore let us offer
the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our
lips giving thanks to his name.
16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such
sacrifices God is well pleased.
(“communicate”
here means to have fellowship and to give to those in need)
Just as in the days of the
animal sacrifices, which represented Christ, God looks today to our
sacrifices of praise, as well as doing good (item
d above) and in fellowship with the
brethren (item c above).
f) Am I zealous to
manifest the principles of God?
Titus 2:14 [see
Lesson]
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Titus 3:8 and verse 14 [see
Lesson]
8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm
constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to
maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
14 And let ours also learn to
maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.
To be zealous is to be focused and always looking for an opportunity to
manifest the power of the Holy Spirit in the form of Godly principles as we
discussed above. God clearly brings these opportunities our way and we
need to train ourselves to be looking for them.
g) Am I a doer of the
Work?
James 1:25-26
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth
therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this
man shall be blessed in his deed.
26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his
tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
Looking back at the
definition of the salvation process above, we can easily see that most
of the elements are action elements—things we do with and through the
power of the Holy Spirit. If we are addressing this element, we are
“doers” of the Work.
h) Are my thoughts
established?
Proverbs 16:3
Commit thy works unto the LORD, and
thy thoughts shall be established.
The more we immerse ourselves
into the Word of God (request the
two-part sermon on this subject)
the more our thoughts are established for as 2 Corinthians 3:18 states,
the more we do this, the more we are transformed into the image of
Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Notice also how God’s Word and
promises are automatic. Proverbs 16:3 says that if WE commit thy works
to the Lord (being a doer of the
Work and immersing ourselves into the Word of God)
the RESULT is our thoughts being established. As the Word pours into
our brain, the false information and ways are forced out.
i) Am I abounding in the
Work of God?
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour
is not in vain in the Lord.
This is talking about focus
and concentration on both our salvation process and the Work of God we
support.
j) Have I established a
gate on my mind?
See the piece, “Stopping Sin
Using the Wisdom of Solomon
In brief, we are to realize
that all sin begins with a single thought. Like elders sitting in the
gates of the cities of Israel, we are to integrate and recognize each
thought as it comes into our “city” (mind)
through its gates (eyes, ears, etc.)
and if that thought be one we KNOW will begin the sin process, to rebuke
it and destroy it and not allow it into our minds.
k) Do I have God’s Spirit
in me?
1 John 2:20
But ye have an unction from the
Holy One, and ye know all things.
1 John 3:24
And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And
hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given
us.
If you are actively focusing
on the elements of your salvation process, you will know this to be
true. It is by the Holy Spirit that you understand and have the power
to do the elements of the salvation process.
l) Am I preparing to meet the
Lord of the Passover?
Job 11:13-15
13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
14 If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness
dwell in thy tabernacles.
15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be
stedfast, and shalt not fear:
If you are conducting
yourself in the salvation process and immersing yourself in the mind of
God (the Word of God),
you ARE preparing to meet the Lord.
So, here we have discussed
just 12 questions we can ask ourselves as we prepare for the Lord's
Supper, as we prepare to take that bread and wine and as we proceed
through the Days of Unleavened Bread.
But you may be asking, “Why
entitle this sermon the ‘Final Exam’?”
That’s easy. From the day
you were called there has only been the One exam and that exam is final.
The Passover/Lord's Supper is
a reminder that our exam is final.
Remember the 10 virgins and
what it says in Matthew 25:1
Matthew 25:1
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took
their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. (this
was their only mission, their only exam)
Let us take our lamps, full
of oil and go forth to meet the bridegroom.
---END--- The Checklist follows
Note: I am not going to provide
the entire verses here as I want to encourage you to do this yourself.
PASSOVER/LORD'S SUPPER-DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD CHECKLIST
1) Am I
keeping the commandments?
John
14:21
2) Am I
abiding in His word?
John
8:31
3) Do I
love my brethren like Christ loved me?
John
13:34-35
1 John
3:14-19
4) Am I
bearing fruit—manifesting
the principles of God?
John
15:6-8
5) Am I
praising God?
Hebrews 13:15-16
(in
verse 16, “communicate” here means to have fellowship and to give to
those in need)
6) Am I
zealous to manifest
the principles of God?
Titus
2:14 [see
Lesson]
Titus
3:8 and verse 14 [see
Lesson]
7) Am I a
doer of the Work?
James
1:25-26
8) Are my
thoughts established?
Proverbs 16:3
9) Am I
abounding in the Work of God?
1
Corinthians 15:58
10) Have I
established a gate on my mind? (referring
to my article “Stopping Sin Using the Wisdom of Solomon”)
Have we
developed a means or model of stopping the offending thought as it
enters our consciousness? Sin begins with a thought and if we can
mortify or kill the thought, the sin cannot take place.
11) Do I
have God’s Spirit in me?
1 John
2:20
1 John
3:24
12) Am I
preparing to meet the Lord of the Passover?
Job
11:13-15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUBJECT:
Stopping Sin
Using the Wisdom of Solomon
Here in the Web Site Office, we have received a number of e-mails from
people fighting sin. Some say they are being attacked on every side or
that they seem to be fighting one temptation after another. Each asks if
there is some effective way to win the battle against sin; if there is
some Biblical solution to combating temptation and stopping it before
the sinful action manifests itself.
Wouldn't that be wonderful? To actually have a method or tool or maybe a
Biblical model that we could use to stop the process of sin BEFORE it
resulted in the final sinful act. Notice that I called it the "process"
of sin. All sin begins somewhere. Let's notice this process stated in
the Word of God.
James 1:14-15
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin,
when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
The process of sin begins with temptation and temptation begins with a
thought. If we had a tool that could both recognize the tempting
thought, then kill it before we became enticed (or
attracted to go further) then we could stop sin in our lives
all together. Stop the initial thought and you stop the sinful action
from taking place. Fighting sin is a mental battle. Our model for
fighting sin exists in actual military battles. Solomon knew about
preparing for battle and it is from him that we obtain our method for
winning the battle against sin.
After Solomon became king, he set about to build the temple and
strengthen Israel. He accomplished the latter by building and fortifying
3 key cities that lay directly between Egypt to the south and
Mesopotamia to the north and east. He knew that if he controlled the
trade routes with strong fortified cities, he could control both country
and commerce. It is in how he fortified those cities that we find the
model for fighting sin. First notice the three city-strongholds he had
built.
1 Kings 9:15
And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to
build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall
of Jerusalem, and Hazier, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
Now if you are going to fortify a city you must strengthen its weakest
point, the gate. Solomon, in his God-given wisdom knew that if he could
devise a clever way of designing the city gates, he could overwhelm any
armed force that attempted to gain entry through that gate. To better
understand this gate design, refer to this computer model of the city of
Megiddo.
Note: To see models and photos of Megiddo and the gate structure visit
these web sites:
https://sites.google.com/site/megiddoexpedition/dig-megiddo-2012/expectations
The Megiddo Expedition
http://www.bible-architecture.info/Megiddo.htm This site has great
photos, drawings and models of the city and the six-chamber gates.
http://www.bibleplaces.com/megiddo.htm Megiddo at Bibleplaces site.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Megiddo Tel Megiddo in Wikipedia
http://emp.byui.edu/SATTERFIELDB/Ancient%20Israel/Megiddo.html
Megiddo models and photos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWnPOzm4djk&feature=related
Instructive video of Megiddo and the Solomonic gates.
Notice first that the city is built on a hill. The enemy forces must
trudge up-hill to an outer battlement by means of the road you see to
the left. The road meets the outer, two-chamber gate: One chamber on
each side of the gate passage itself. The gate is covered in iron lest
the enemy set a wooden one afire. If they get by the outer gate and into
the courtyard, they are surrounded on all four sides by high
battlements. The enemy must now turn left, still going up-hill and into
the portal of the main gate. This is a six-chambered or Solomonic gate
with 3 rooms on either side. This was Solomon's design. The Oriental
Institute excavators, as well as Israeli archaeologist Yigael Yadin
attributed the design to King Solomon. When the city was under siege,
the defenders would fill these chambers with soldiers. As the enemy
moved into the gate passage, assuming they could get the huge gate open,
they would be overwhelmed by the soldiers streaming out of all 6
chambers. As some of the defenders were killed, fresh solders were
lowered into the chambers from trapdoors atop the high battlements thus
insuring overwhelming forces to meet the enemy. Have you ever given
thought to defending the gates of your mind in the same way described
here?
Your mind; your brain, is set high upon your shoulders. It is surrounded
by a protective skull that acts every bit as the wall surrounding
Megiddo. Your mind has gates too; gates that must be defended. Most of
our thoughts, especially lustful thoughts are generated by what we see
and hear in the world. Our eyes and ears react to the outside stimuli.
Thoughts are generated by those outside stimuli in our conscious mind. I
liken the conscious mind to the outer courtyard in our Megiddo model.
Now, it is here, in our conscious mind, that we stop the evil and
negative thoughts. As the lustful or negative thought enters our
consciousness, first identify it as a watchman standing on the high
battlement looking down into the outer courtyard. If you deem the
thought negative or sinful, then sound a mental alarm and imagine
soldiers streaming out of the chambers forcing the thought clear out of
your mind, past the outer gate and into the lower valley far outside the
walls. Sure, it is a mental exercise, but it works because the soldiers
represent the Spirit of God.
In a recent sermon, Mr. Armstrong described the most effective way to
get sin out of our lives. He had us picture an empty cup and likened the
air in the cup as being the sin. He stated that one couldn't remove the
air by attempting to suck it out. However, if one pours water into the
cup, the air is forced out. It is interesting that God uses water as a
metaphor for the Holy Spirit. It is the same way with the Solomonic gate
model; the soldiers, picturing the power of the Holy Spirit overwhelm
the negative thoughts and force them from the gate and into the valley.
They are destroyed.
Isn't it interesting that Mr. Armstrong always describes the Holy Spirit
as something that is placed into the frontal lobes of the brain, as if
in the gate of our mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love,
and of a sound mind.
Model Not Yet Complete
Our model for stopping sin is not yet complete. We have not discussed
what else the Solomonic, six chambered gate was designed to do. As we
read in the Word of God in our study of city gates, we find them the
center of activity for the city. It was in the gates where much of the
city's social, business and legal interaction took place. Remember
reading those verses all these years about the elders "sitting in the
gate"? (Deuteronomy 22:15, 25:7) I had always wondered how an elder
could sit in a gate. Did he sit on the gate or on the ground where the
gate was closed at night? After learning of the design of the gate, I
now understand. They sat in those chambers to the right and left of the
entrance to the city. Here, the reading of the law and proclamations
took place (Joshua 20:4; 2 Chronicles 32:6; Nehemiah 8:1,3). Court was
held there (Deuteronomy 16:18; 17:8; Ruth 4:11). Prophets and priests
delivered admonitions and pronouncements at the gates (Isaiah 29:21;
Amos 5:10; Jeremiah 17:19). So we see that anything that had to do with
the city passed through or took place at the gate. Everything that
resides in our brain passed through the gates of our conscious mind. We
begin now to see the importance of guarding the gates of our mind.
The gate represented the place of authority and the glory of the city
(Isaiah 3:26; Jeremiah 14:2). The Israelites were instructed to
establish this authority with judges at the city gates. Notice...
Deuteronomy 16:18
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the
LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge
the people with just judgment.
One of the functions of the elders at the gate was to protect the city
and their people from the outside world. The judges were there to
interview those entering the city to be sure their presence was
welcomed. Evildoers who might cheat, steal or break the laws of the city
were not allowed to enter or stay in the city. Notice Deuteronomy 17
beginning in verse 2...
Deuteronomy 17:2-5
If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy
God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight
of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, And hath gone and
served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any
of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told thee,
and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, and, behold, it be
true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed
that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and
shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
God admonishes us to do the same with our every thought...
2 Corinthians 10:5
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself
against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ.
These verses complete our model. With the power of the Spirit of God we
are to "interview" or judge each thought coming into our conscious mind.
If we find the thoughts to be evil, negative and not in keeping with the
law of God then we are to "stone them with 'Spiritual' stones"..."till
they die". So whether you imagine soldiers, stones or a fast rushing
wind, sweep the negative thoughts from the gates of your mind the second
you identify them as such. Make this mental warfare a habit and it will
become a part of your character. If we overcome the sin in our lives
then God will allow us to enter into another gate that He has prepared
for us...
Psalm 118:19-20
Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will
praise the LORD: This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall
enter.
Revelation 22:14
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to
the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. |