The Weekly Sermon » Sermons

Suffering, Sickness, Healing

Pastor David Miklas — Sat, 19 May 2012 22:30:54 +0000

Sunday May 20, 2012	Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas	e-mail pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message: Book of James #24	Text: James 5:13-15

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Suffering, Sickness, Healing

Introduction: As we move toward the close of this extremely practical book of James, in Chapter 5:7-12 James mentions the word PATIENCE 5 times to his scattered Jewish friends. In verses 13-18 he uses the word PRAY 7 times. In James 5:13-15 we find that God is interested in our emotional and physical well being.

“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. (14) Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: (15) And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

Did you notice the three questions James asked and what the three answers were?

Is any among you afflicted? What are you to do? PRAY!

Is any among you merry (happy)? What are you to do? SING! Literally sing praises unto the Lord?

Is any among you physically sick? What are you to do? CALL for the pastors to PRAY!

First Question: “Is any among you afflicted?” Now the word afflicted has to do with suffering. We could translate this question, "Is any one of you in trouble?" From the context, we can understand more fully what James had in mind. Many of these Christians were facing severe trials.

They were working for non-Christians who wouldn't pay them their wages, verse 4.

While they were unable to meet their personal needs, the employers were living in luxury and self-indulgence, verse 5.

Others were being falsely accused, and some were even being sentenced to death, verse 6.

Who among us has not felt the pain of troubles in life? Perhaps you have felt:

The pain of rejection from those you love;

The mental anguish because of a wayward son or daughter; or even

The daily pressure to keep up with the demands of work, school and home life.

So when facing these stresses in life, James' answer is to PRAY.

David in Psalm 18:4-6 said, "The sorrows of death compassed me about, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me. IN MY DISTRESS I CALLED UPON THE LORD, and cried unto my God; He heard my voice…"

Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

There is no problem, no concern, and no affliction that is too small to warrant God’s concern. Think about that for a moment. Notice Paul said, "nothing and everything." That means God is interested in every detail of my life and yours! Listen to the Hymn which captures this truth:

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble ANYWHERE?

We should NEVER be discouraged,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful,

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our EVERY weakness,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Second Question: "Is any merry?" Another way of saying this would be, "Is anyone cheerful? Is anyone happy?" Life is filled with those moments that are distressful and make us sad, as well of those moments that are exciting and exhilarating.

God never planned for life, even the Christian life, to be one continuous "mountaintop experience." In fact, we wouldn't enjoy the "mountaintop" if we did not experience a few "valleys." Paul recognized this in Romans 12:15 where we read, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn."

If anyone is cheerful, "let him sing psalms." James is saying if we are enjoying life in a special way, we should not forget the SOURCE of that happiness. We should praise the Lord!

We should be praising God with the same serious demeanor as when we are praying to God. In I Chronicles 16:8-10 we read, "Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, SING PSALMS unto Him, talk ye of all His wondrous works. Glory ye in His holy name; let the heart of them rejoice who seek the Lord."

Of what value is praising God with Psalms? Both in periods of suffering and trouble, and in times of joy, prayer and praise alike acknowledge that GOD IS ALL SUFFICIENT.

“Is any troubled? Then pray. Is any happy? Then praise.” Now we come to the third question.

Third Question: “Is any sick among you?" Once again James answered his own question in verses 14-15. “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: (15) And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

There are at least two basic reasons why his answer appears to be confusing and controversial to some Christians.

On the OBJECTIVE side, the Bible says a lot about physical healing. Over 468 verses in the Gospels deal with healing, as you find many of Jesus’ miracles were that of healing people physically.

On the SUBJECTIVE side, physical illness is very threatening. The prospect of dying is frightening, whether it involves us personally, or a loved one. When facing death, we desperately want help. For most of us, there is no price too great to pay. A dying man or woman will respond to any ray of hope.

Today thousands travel around the world seeking those who claim to have the gift of healing. Testimonies of people declaring they have been healed abound. Special “anointed” cloths are even sold that are said to have healing powers.

Are these things real?

What about the use of medicine?

Should we trust God alone for healing?

What do you think?

More importantly, what does God think?

The desire to seek God's help in times like these is natural, IT IS BIBLICAL! It is God's will. WE SHOULD ASK FOR PRAYER! WE SHOULD ASK FOR HEALING! James could not be clearer. However, before we turn to James, let’s take a brief look at several foundational truths relative to the subject of faith healing.

Number 1: Sometimes there is a direct relationship between personal sin and sickness. Remember the story of David and Bathsheba in II Samuel 11-12?

David committed adultery with Bathsheba, arranged for her husband to be killed, and then refused to acknowledge his sin for some time. After a rebuke from the prophet Nathan, David confessed and repented.

Psalm 32 reveals the physical sufferings he experienced while refusing to acknowledge his sin. In verse 3-4 we read, “When I kept silent, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer.”

Number 2: Sometimes there is no relationship between personal sin and sickness:

In Mark 2:1-12 we read of Jesus encountering a sick man, where he first forgave his sins and then healed him. Some sickness is a result of sin and some sickness is not a result of sin.

On the other hand in John 9:1-3, we have Jesus healing the man who had been born blind. In verse 2b-3 we read, “And his disciples asked him, saying Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, "neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be manifested in him."

His illness was not a direct result of sin. This passage clearly teaches that "all sickness is not a direct result of sin." Some sickness is a result of sin and some sickness is not a result of sin.

Number 3: God does allow for the use of doctors and medicine in the healing process.

In Colossians 4:4 Paul refers to his beloved physician, Dr. Luke.

In Thessalonians 5:23 Paul prescribed a little wine. Actually it was grape juice for Timothy's stomach problems.

In Matthew 9:12 Jesus said, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick."

This shows God does use medicine. However, we must remember that medicine does not make you well any more than does the baptismal pool save you. You are saved by the precious blood of Jesus. In the same way healing takes place because of the sovereign will of God.

Number 4: It is not God’s will that everyone be healed. As you study the Gospels you will find Jesus did heal the sick. Did He heal all the sick? No! In some instances Jesus just singled out certain ones in order to demonstrate His deity.

Please listen carefully. There are times that God may grant healing, if it is His sovereign will to do so. But in many cases He allows His children to continue to suffer. This does not indicate a lack of faith on our part or on their part. Someone said, "Sometimes we can learn more of God's grace and love in sickness than in health, and often we can glorify Him more through suffering than we can in health and prosperity."

According to Acts 20:7-12, 28:7-9, Paul had the gift of healing.

Yet he left Trophimus sick in Miletus, II Timothy 4:20.

Epaphroditus almost died while ministering to Paul in Philippians 2:25-27

Even Paul asked God three times to remove his “thorn in the flesh,” but God said “My grace is sufficient for you.” In II Corinthians 12:9 Paul was a man of faith, a man of prayer, and a servant of God. Yet God didn't want him healed.

So what do we do? Do we just go to a doctor? Do we just take some medicine? Yes, but there is more. We are to PRAY! In some instances when we are beyond any hope from the human stand point we are to call for the pastors to pray for us.

Now let’s look more closely at James 5:14-15, where we are given some very explicit directions as to what we are to do when we are sick. The word translated sick in verse 14 is the Greek word meaning "without strength."

It refers to a very serious illness or injury.

It carries the idea of being totally incapacitated.

The implication is they are so sick that medical science has done all it can, and now it is up to God to intervene and act. From these verses we can gather FOUR important truths, we are to take into account when a person in the church is gravely ill.

First: When a Christian is seriously ill, he or she should call for the Pastors of the church. I say Pastors since the word "elders" refers to the pastors. This does not refer to "professional healers," who go from place to place conducting healing meetings. In fact, nowhere in Scripture do we have examples of what we see today in so called “healing meetings.”

Please notice the SICK PERSON is to take the initiative and call for the pastors. There’s no way anyone can know you’re sick unless you tell them. And yet, many expect everyone to somehow know, and then they complain when nobody comes to help. When we become seriously ill, our first step is to make others aware of our needs.

Let me say I very definitely believe this passage of scripture is for TODAY. Anyone of you in this congregation has the perfect right to ask me to come and pray in the name of the Lord that you may be healed. However, this does not always mean you will be healed. God does heal. However,

Sometimes God wants people to die and go to heaven.

Sometimes God wants people to stay sick, as a testimony of God’s grace and for His glory.

There are those who could be healed, if they would obey God's simple admonition here.

Second: The Pastors are to come and pray over the sick person in the name of the Lord. This means to pray according to the "will of God." We can only ask and pray that God will do what is ultimately best.

When one has prayed for themselves for healing, and

When one has done all there is to do medically,

Then the pastor's are to pray with a sense of humility, realizing that God is ultimately in control of human destiny.

Third: The Pastors are to anoint the sick person with oil. The words James used, "Anoint with oil," actually means "to rub with oil." He was probably referring to the ancient custom of rubbing the sick person with OLIVE OIL. It was a means whereby they attempted to help the sick person feel better.

There is only one other place where oil is mentioned along with healing and that is in Mark 6:12-13 where Jesus sent the twelve disciples "out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them."

In the Old Testament the use of olive oil was used as an act of dedication on the part of the one surrendering to God. It is for this reason I believe the use of oil is symbolic as we pray for the sick. God does heal with and without oil. In fact, if there is healing, God did it.

Fourth: The Pastors are to pray in faith. Thank God that He sees beyond our human limitations and honors what faith we do have, just as Jesus did for the man who came asking Him to heal his son and confessing, "Lord, I do believe, help my unbelief." Jesus did honor this request and healed the man's son.

Now, if we understand God's power and the fact He can do anything, it is not difficult for any believer to pray for healing "in faith." However, to be able to pray with this kind of faith means understanding God's sovereignty.

We must acknowledge that God responds to OUR FAITH IN HIS ABILITY TO HEAL,

NOT IN OUR FAITH THAT HE IS GOING TO HEAL IN EVERY SITUATION.

Did you notice that James never once mentions faith healers?

I believe in divine healing. I do not believe in divine healers.

I believe in faith healing. I do not believe in faith healers. There is a great difference.

I believe that God in His sovereign grace and power will in fact reach down in some cases and change a condition.”

Over the years I have participated in prayer sessions for sick people with some of the deacons. With other Pastors and deacons I have used oil, in a symbolic way and have prayed in the name of the Lord for healing.

On occasions I've seen God answer our prayers in marvelous ways. When God heals, remember to thank Him and give Him the glory!

At other times, I've seen the Lord take home to heaven those for whom we have so diligently prayed.

Please on those occasions when God has not healed,

We must humbly accept it as the will of God.

We must not feel it is a lack of faith on our part or on the part of the one that is ill.

We must not become suspicious that it's because of some sin in our lives or in the life of the one who is dying.

Rather, if our hearts have been right towards God, we must accept the illness as the will of God!

And in many respects, God has answered our prayers. To deliver a soul from pain and suffering through death is a glorious release for a terminally ill person.

I believe God has enabled us to see Christians face death with a proper perspective. We prayed much for them. In some cases we went to their homes and together as Pastors and Deacons we prayed over them. But God did not choose to heal. However, they left us a precious testimony of faith and a picture of dying grace.

Can God work miracles in our time of sufferings? Yes he can.

Can God heal us in our sickness? Yes, He is able, and He at times works miraculously in the lives of some of his people.

But is there healing for all of us? No, my friends, not until one day we are received up into glory

Where there will be no more pain, and

Where there will be no more suffering, and

Where there will be peace forevermore.

Aside from God’s miracle of PHYSICAL HEALING, there is also the miracle of SPIRITUAL HEALING that God already completed at Calvary. There in love He gave His only begotten Son to shed His blood that would provide the means to pardon our sins and cleanse our souls.

It just maybe that right now you need that soul cleansing.

It just maybe be that right now you need to pray, "Lord I confess I am a sinner and right now I take Jesus’ payment for my sins, and save me in Jesus name."

As you are considering the need of your soul, listen to this wonderful hymn that captures the thought of our text from James 5.

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!

That calls me from a world of care.

And bids me at my Father's throne,

Make all my wants and wishes known;

In seasons of distress and grief,

My soul has often found relief,

And oft escape the tempter's snare,

By thy return, sweet hour of prayer.

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!

Thy wings shall my petition bear,

To Him whose truth and faithfulness

Engage the waiting soul to bless;

And since He bids me seek His face,

Believe His word and trust His grace,

I'll cast on Him my every care,

And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer.

********************************************************************

If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon “Suffering, Sickness, and Healing,” then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: “I do want to go to Heaven. I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am completely depending on Him for my salvation.”

If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior let me know? Please send an e-mail to, pdmikBBM@aol.com and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.

The “Weekly SERMON” was sent as a ministry of Bible Baptist Ministry, 48 Alexie Rd., Hanover Township, PA 18706. Privacy policy: your e-mail address will not be sold, or shared with any third party.

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In His Amazing Grace,

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Be Patient, when You have been Wronged

Pastor David Miklas — Sat, 12 May 2012 13:29:34 +0000

Sunday May 13, 2012	Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas	e-mail pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message: Book of James #23	Text: James 5:7-12

Be Patient, when You have been Wronged

Introduction: As we move through the remarkable Book of James, we come to another area that affects all of us – handling conflicts in life. How do you handle them?

Do you run from them and throw in the towel?

Do you seek revenge on those who create the conflicts in your life?

For most of us, PATIENCE is a scarce commodity. But for the Christians of the 1st century, plagued with problems and persecution, being patient was an absolute necessity. Now as a matter of background, we need to read James 5:1-6,

“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. (2) Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. (3) Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. (4) Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. (5) Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. (6) Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.”

Our text in James 5:7-12 is a continuation of verses 1-6. Four times within the span of six verses James uses the word "Brethren," which indicates he is directing his thoughts to Christians.

“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. (8) Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. (9) Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. (10) Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. (11) Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. (12) But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.”

Remember in verses 1-6, James directed some strong statements to un-believers who were rich in this world, but not rich in Christ. The non-believers had been mistreating the believer.

As a result, the believers in verse 9 began to "hold grudges," and to top it off, in verse 12 they became untrustworthy in what they said.

Problems, they had them.

Conflicts, they were full of them.

So James stands up on a Sunday and shouts, "BE PATIENT!" Wow! You say, “He sure lost his marbles that Sunday.” James continues to shout, "BE PATIENT when people abuse you. DON'T RETALIATE! When everything seems to be dark and desperately hopeless, START LOOKING UP! God is still in CONTROL and one of these days, it could be today, He will return to take us home. Hard to believe? NO, JUST KEEP LOOKING UP."

Hold it, Pastor that was the 1st century. This is the 21st century. There are many occasions and people in our lives that try our patience, and irritations that cause us to grind our teeth and lose our cool.

Traffic jams and long lines when in a hurry;

Phone call interruptions when at your busiest;

Incompetence in workers;

Inconsiderate neighbors;

The gas tank left on empty when rushed;

Husband, wife, and kid problems;

Late mail;

Job pressure;

Persecution from unsaved family members who reject our faith.

All of us experience frustrating moments when we find it difficult to cope with pressures and problems, the two "P's" that cause us to "pop our cork" and really explode.

Now if you are a candidate for the "Panic Palace," you are in for a miserable outlook. Let me remind you of a phrase we brought to your attention in our second message on the Book of James. "ATTITUDE DETERMINES ACTIONS and OUTLOOK DETERMINES OUTCOME."

James was speaking to the 1st century Christians who were cracking under the pressures of persecution. They were questioning whether their suffering was really all that worthwhile. And no doubt they were saying, like we do at times, "Does God really care?"

Perhaps you remember James used the word “Patience” in chapter 1:2-4 where we read. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; (3) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. (4) But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

Now as we come to James 5:7-11, again we find the word “Patience” used 5 times. Please follow me again as I read these verses and notice the use of the word “Patience.”

Now the word "patience" in chapter 1 and chapter 5 is not the same Greek word.

In chapter 1 the Greek word for patience is "Hupomeno." This word tells us to "Bear-up" under the CIRCUMSTANCES of life. It literally means to develop "Endurance." Keep standing while everything else is falling. In Romans 5:3-4 we have this same Greek word where we read, "…knowing that tribulation worketh patience (or endurance) and patience (or endurance) hope…"

The word for patience in chapter 5 is the Greek work "Makrothumia" better translated by our English word "Long-suffering." James is saying, "Calm down, lengthen your temper, don't lose it, and don’t swear out in revenge."

This word for patience has to do with PEOPLE. We may smile at this but let’s face it, we sometimes feel the way one little girl expressed it, "People, people, people that's my problem, if it weren't for people I would have no problem." James is telling us to be patient with PEOPLE. He is telling us to develop a long-suffering toward people in spite of what they may do to you. Paul emphases it this way in I Thessalonians 5:14, "…encourage the feebleminded support the weak, be patient or long-suffering toward all men."

“Oh pastor, you don't know how ________ is getting to me.” STOP, do you realize the Greek word "Makrothumia" is used as an attribute of God? The Bible tells us God is long-suffering:

II Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promises … but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

Just as God has patience toward the un-righteous, so should we.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-44, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, BLESS them who curse you, DO GOOD to them that hate you, and PRAY for them who despitefully use you and persecute you."

Paul said in Colossians 3:12 "Put on, therefore, as the elect of God … bowels of mercies, humbleness of mind, meekness and long-suffering."

Now, in light of these people being oppressed by the rich, James gives 3 very clear reasons for being patient:

FIRST: "Be patient because Jesus is coming again." Please notice the first part of verse 7, “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord…” and the last part of verse 8, “…for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” The Second Coming of Christ is called, 'The Blessed Hope," the great snatching away of all believers, the re-union, the meeting of the Lord in the air.

Oh, let's face it. Life is full of conflicts with people, and we can easily become discouraged. But one day all those conflicts and discouragements will be gone forever. We will understand:

If we could see beyond today, as God can see,

If all the clouds should roll away, the shadows flee;

Over present grief’s we would not fret,

Each sorrow we would soon forget;

For many joys are waiting yet for you and me.

“If we could see, if we could know," we often say.

But God in love a veil doth throw across our way.

We cannot see what lies before

And so we cling to Him the more,

He leads us till this life is over;

So in the mean time, just Trust and Obey.

Jesus is coming again. Listen, if the OUT-LOOK is DARK, try the UPPER-LOOK. Live as if Jesus is coming today. Think about it; meditate on it daily, remembering Jesus is coming again. I sincerely believe most of our discouragements come about, and we are ready to throw in the towel, because we are not WAITING and WATCHING for Jesus' return.

You and I are always in a hurry, but God isn't. God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. Often times HIS timetable is not the same as OURS. Our times are actually in His hands; He will avenge His elect speedily.

You will notice in verse 8 that James adds something to the word patient. It's the word "establish," which means "to prop." James is saying in light of the persecution of people and in light of the Second Coming, "prop yourselves up," Jesus could very well come today.

SECOND: "Be Patient, because God is still at work." Here James gives us three examples of how God is still at work.

Number 1: The Farmer: In verse 7 we read, “…Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.” James talks about the farmer who plants the crop; who cultivates his crop and then waits for the harvest.He can do nothing now but simply wait for God to cause the seed to germinate and the plant to grow and to send the rain.

Just as the farmer can know the Lord is going to send the rain on the crops, so we can know the Lord is going to send His Son once again. Therefore we can trust God for the final outcome of our lives.

We are God's garden, purchased by His precious blood. We have been planted and cultivated by the Lord. God is still on the throne to produce in us the character of patience. Yes, into our lives week after week comes the SUNSHINE and the RAIN. Look, if our lives were always filled with just SUNSHINE, we would only be a parched desert. We need the RAINSTORMS in our lives.

For out of both the good times and the bad times

For out of the times of rejoicing and the times of sadness

For out of the times we are on top and out of the times we are under the perplexing circumstances of life

My friends, God is still at work. Do you believe that? God is accomplishing His perfect will in our lives, Amen!

Number 2: The Prophets. Again notice verse 10-11a, “Take…, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. (11) Behold, we count them happy which endure.” James is making the point that the prophets suffered not because they did anything WRONG, but because they were doing RIGHT!

They spoke in the name of the Lord! They were disapproved by their contemporaries and persecuted for their testimony.

It seems to these prophets, PATIENCE was their watchword. There are at least 11 passages in the New Testament that refers to the persecution of the prophets. Perhaps the greatest of these is found in Hebrews 11 called "The Hall of Faith," where we have reference to Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses, Notice verses 32-40,

“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: (33) Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, (34) Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. (35) Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: (36) And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: (37) They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (38) (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (39) And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: (40) God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”

This is a side of Christianity we do not like to think about, the suffering side. For most of us, we like to think that when we are saved, everything is going to be glorious. It is true that we will never be away from the PRESENCE and POWER of God. But we will have problems and difficulties. The prophets illustrated this in their patient suffering.

Right now, all around the world even as I speak, there are believers suffering persecution for their faith. This is something few of us really know anything about. For most of us, persecution is some circumstantial inconvenience or some people iteration that we have to put-up-with. Yet while we sit here in relative comfort, there are those who are facing religious persecution, even of their lives in our present world.

Now back in James 5, these sufferers are being challenged to bear injury without retaliation. In verse 11 we read, "We count them happy which endure." Now the word "endure" is the same root word as the word patience found in verse 11. And this word patience in verse 11 is different from the other four words translated patience in verses 7, 8, and 10. This is the Greek word "Hupomeno." It is telling us to "bear-up" under the CIRCUMSTANCES of life literally develop "Endurance." Keep standing while everything else is falling. We have seen the patience of the farmer and the patience of the prophets, now let’s look at Job.

Number 3: The endurance of Job. Verse 11 tells us Job had "endurance under the circumstances." Interestingly James is the only New Testament writer who mentions Job. The story of Job actually begins in heaven where Satan is accusing him before God. When God mentions Job as a sterling example of righteousness, Satan replies that Job is godly only because he has everything going for him. Satan says to God, "If You take away the props, Job will curse You to Your face.” So God allows Satan to do just that.

Job lost all His possessions, all his servants and His ten children.

Then he was covered all over his body with boils.

He sat in an ash heap on a Dunhill in misery.

His wife told him to curse God and commit suicide.

Three comforters came to see Job and among other things told him that his suffering was due to his terrible sin.

Yet through it all, Job remained steadfast. Job endured, keeping an invincible faith in God.

God is the great sculptor who holds the chisel. Even though there are many chips that fall, that's the only way the statue will grow. Remember, God is still forming our lives and sometimes He does it with the BLOWS OF CONFLICTS. So be patient, for one day you will have unveiled the statue God has formed.

Notice the word "End" in verse 11, it means purpose. In Job 42:12 we read of Job's trial, "So the Lord blessed the latter END of Job more than the beginning." WHATEVER TRIAL GOD ALLOWS IN OUR LIVES, IT HAS A PURPOSE. This means at times God allows people to cross our paths to try our patience, as He is seeking to work His purposes in our lives.

We are to be patient, because Jesus is coming.

We are to be patient, because God is still at work.

THIRD: Be Patient, for the Judge is at hand. In verse 9 we read, “Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.” From this verse it appears obvious that believers were finding it easy to blame one another for their problems. Don't grumble, don't complain. James is saying in verse 9, "Stop complaining. The Lord's judgment will one day right the wrong."

So what is the underlying thought? I believe James was saying, "be gracious through it. Then lift up your complaints to God who will provide to you the endurance to bear up in the midst of this suffering."

James ends this paragraph with what appears to be a great concern to him as he writes in verse 12, "Above all, my brethren, do not swear…" To understand what James meant, we must understand first what He didn't mean. He was not referring to swearing in the sense of taking the name of the Lord in vain. Certainly, we should not violate this commandment.

So what then was James saying? Well, it appears James is saying in the midst of trials you still need to be STRAIGHTFORWARD and HONEST. They were to just say "yes" when they meant yes and "no" when they meant no.

There are Christians all over the world that face incredible persecution. How do we, in the 21^st century, handle conflict and pain? I wish to encourage you with two passages of scripture:

First: From Philippians 4:4 learn to, "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say rejoice."

Second: From Isaiah 40:31 learn to "Wait upon the Lord in order to renew your strength."

There it is: learn to wait patiently because the Lord is still at work. He's coming again, and one day He will right the wrongs. We must learn to rejoice,

So, amid the conflict, whether great or small,

Do not be discouraged, God is over all;

Count your many blessings, angels will attend,

Help and comfort give you to your journey's end.

********************************************************************

If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon “Be Patient, when You have been Wronged”

then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

In His Amazing Grace,

http://BibleBaptistMinistry.org/……/MMXII/20/

Every wise woman buildeth her house

Pastor David Miklas — Wed, 09 May 2012 09:10:47 +0000

Volume No. 2012 Issue No. 15 Date: May 6, 2012

Publication of the BIBLE BAPTIST MINISTRY, 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706

Phone: 570.829.5216 pdmikBBM@aol.com pastormiklas@aol.com

Ephesians 5:22-24 speaks of a wife’s relationship to her husband, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. (23) For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. (24) Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.”

Ephesians 5:25-29 speaks of the husbands relationship to his wife, “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:”

Ephesians 5:30-33 speaks of the husband and wife relationship, “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (31) For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. (32) This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (33) Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”

Ephesians 6:1-4 speaks of the relationship between parents and children, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. (2) Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) (3) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. (4) And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

Dr. Sheldon Smith wrote in the September issue of the Sword of the Lord, “There's No Place like Home!” Be it ever so mortgaged, be it ever so humble – there's no place like home. Whether it be a palace, a tent, or something in between those two extremes, home ranks high with all of us.

Home is that place where you go when the day is done.

Home is the place with the welcome aroma of dinner in the making.

Home is the place where at all seasons you know you are loved.

Home is the place where families make their headquarters.

Home is the place of rest and refreshment.

Home is the place where you shelter your family, a place of fortification against any and all who would do them harm.

Home is that great God-given incubator in which marriage thrives and children are reared.

Home is expensive, but it is worth all it costs you.

Home will be the target of satanic evil, but worth whatever trial you have to endure.

Home will be vulnerable, yet it is the most basic fabric of our society.

Home may lack some of the latest gadgets, but still be replete with genuine happiness.

Home is at the core of all that is good and right in our world.

Home may have issues from time to time, but you'll work fervently to solve them all if you'll keep fresh in your mind that "there's just no place like home."

As we look forward to this coming Sunday – Mother’s Day, may every mother take heed to Proverbs 14:1, “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” May God’s blessing be upon you this week as you read and meditate on the Mother’s Day message taken from I Peter 3:1-6 “Wives to Husbands, say it with Words” .

In His Amazing Grace,

PS: As we have repeatedly said, we will not charge for sending the Weekly SERMON. However there are expenses associated with doing what we do. If possible during 2012, would you please consider helping us in this faith ministry? Your donation will help us to continue to “stand in the gap” in “teaching others also.” After you have given your tithes to your church and taken care of your pastor, would you consider giving either a yearly gift, or a monthly offering? Remember, for the purposes of financial accountability, we have placed this ministry under the Green Street Baptist Chapel of Edwardsville, PA. Checks made out to Green Street Baptist Chapel, memo to the Bible Baptist ministry and mailed to Bible Baptist Ministry 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706 will be applied to this ministry.

In order to access the Weekly SERMON, please click the link to Weekly Sermon Library, where you will be able to choose: Plain Text (TXT), Microsoft Word document (DOC), Rich Text (RTF), Web Page (HTML) or PDF (Portable Document Format), any of the format(s) you desire. After you decide on the appropriate format(s) you may then print a copy of the Weekly SERMON, save it to a file on your computer, or download it and save it to a disk for future use. Your use of this material is meant to be flexible.

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Wives, to your Husbands, say it with Words

Pastor David Miklas — Sat, 05 May 2012 16:19:46 +0000

Sunday May 6, 2012	Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas	e-mail pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message: Mother's Day – 2012	Text: I Peter 3:1-6

Wives, to your Husbands, say it with Words

Introduction: Someone said, "Marriage is not so much finding the right person, as it is being the right person." There are two things that make a real marriage work:

First: A women characterized by SUBMISSION: Where the WIFE must come to terms with her role and ask, "Do I love my husband enough to live for Him?"

Second: A man characterized by SACRIFICIAL LOVE. Where the HUSBAND must come to terms with his role and ask, "Do I love my wife enough to die for her?"

With that in mind, let's look at the marriage scene in I Peter 3:1-7. On this “Mother’s Day,” let’s review FOUR marriage principles for the Wife in verses 1-6 and then on “Father’s Day,” five weeks from now, we will review FIVE marriage principles for the Husband, all found in verse 7.

“Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; (2) While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. (3) Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; (4) But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. (5) For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: (6) Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. (7) Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”

It may seem strange Peter’s advice to wives is 6 times as long as that to husbands. This is because the wife’s position is far more difficult than that of the husband.

If a husband becomes a Christian, he will usually bring his wife with him into the church.

But if a wife becomes a Christian, while her husband does not, she is taking a step which produces problems.

I am confident that some lady is thinking, "Sure, I will be glad to live like that as long as I have the right kind of husband." Nevertheless, these verses are written especially to the wife who has the WRONG kind of a husband.

Notice Peter doesn't make allowances for the wife to say, "It could be different if only I had a Christian husband or a spiritual husband." Forget the "If only" and the "If…then." Living as a Christian does not depend upon anyone else.

Peter is talking to wives whose husbands are unsaved or whose husbands are saved but living as carnal Christians.

Now, before I focus your attention upon these verses, that to some will seem very controversial, let me state two things:

Number 1: It was God who gave these words to Peter. So if you have an issue with them; then I encourage you to take it up with God in your prayer time.

Number 2: These words are sorely needed among us, as I see a tremendous problem for our women in the church in general. On this point you might not agree with me, but nevertheless it is true. Just stop for a moment and apply each one of these points in the negative and you will see the problems facing women in the church today.

The First Principle found in verses 1-2 has to do with ACTION. “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; (2) While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.” The word "conversation" speaks about your "behavior." Even though your husband may be tough to live with, he probably isn't blind. He cannot totally ignore the behavior of his godly wife. Nagging and preaching will only drive a greater wedge between your husband and Christ. Peter is saying, I believe,

More could be accomplished if you begin to let your behavior at home speak for itself. Your prayer ought to be "Lord change me" before you pray "Lord deal with my husband.”

As a wife, you cannot make your husband something he is not, only God can do that. It is your job to obey your husband. It is God’s job to change his life.

In verse 1 the word "Subjection" has the idea of "Submission." In the context we find two basic components of submission,

In verse 6 we have the element of OBEDIENCE, this speaks of your ACTION. This has to do with WHAT you do.

In verse 2 we have the element of RESPECT, this speaks of your ATTITUDE. This has to do with HOW you do it.

ACTION and ATTITUDE are both important in the idea of submission. The absence of the one will cancel out the effect of the other.

To get a reaction from women, simply use the word submission, and duck! It is usually thought of as the curse word with the most letters. If the topic is discussed in a ladies meeting, you can feel the tension in the audience.

In Ephesians 5:22-24 the Apostle speaks to the wives where we read, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. (23) For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. (24) Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.” The word “submit” is the Greek word meaning to “line up under.” Submission in the Bible is not a man vs. woman issue. But the very essence of Christianity is that we each, as Ephesians 5:21 tells us, “as followers of Christ, submit ourselves one to another.” This is not a reference to slavery or inferiority. God ordained it that way, so society could function under leadership.

God ordained a distinction in function all the way back to Genesis 3:16 when He said to Eve, “…thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Yet in Genesis 2:24, God also said that “the two shall be one flesh.” Now for the sake of unity and workability, the woman is to be subject to the headship of her husband; not as a slave, but as one who is provided for, cared for, and given security by her husband. A lady wrote, “A man’s throne is leadership, a woman’s throne is influence. When a woman takes leadership, she loses influence, but when a woman gives up leadership, she gains influence.”

So then, what is “submission?” Written from a woman’s point of view, here are five of many possible explanations:

First: Submission is a command from God. It doesn’t take a Greek scholar to see that Paul gives a command, “wives, be subject to your own husbands…” and then compares it “…as to the Lord.” As a Christian wife would respond to her Lord, so she is to do to her husband.

Second: Submission is your protection from Satan’s control. In James 4:6-8 we read, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. (7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”

Third: Submission is necessary for rearing of good children. Your children will be as obedient as you are. That is a scary thought, yet an accurate one.

Fourth: Submission avoids conflicts: In any situation when a wife is not willing to yield her will to her husband, he is forced to act in a way which is contrary to God's Word. That is to say, he has two choices:

He can choose to be a bully and demand leadership by force.

He can choose to be a wimp, and allow his wife to lead.

Neither of these are good choices. The only good solution is for the wife to give up leadership to her husband and to follow him. This allows him to be the leader God intended him to be without having to behave in an un-Christ-like manner. Ephesians 5:21 says, "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Yet verse 23 of the same chapter tells us that "… the husband is the head of the wife …" How can these two Bible principles be reconciled, by both yielding their wills to each other? The wife chooses to be the one who yields the most. Submission avoids conflict in every area of a marriage.

Fifth: Submission is the oil that keeps the machinery of marriage running smoothly. Since the order of scripture is always correct, then the marriage machine must start with the wife giving submission to her husband. Remember, submission is not just obeying a man’s demand; it’s a woman’s gift to her husband that causes a man to feel responsible and thus encourages him to make sound decisions.

Listen to the following, written by a lady who understands the importance of “submission.” She wrote, “I realize that I will never get past the struggle I have in the area of submission. I can either give-in and live with the consequences, namely a miserable marriage, or I can decide to take my stubbornness and use it in other ways. Ladies, we have a huge, constant desire to REFUSE TO SUBMIT that is going to stay with us till the grave. Let's take that weapon and point it toward something else besides our husbands. Here are a few suggestions.”

REFUSE TO SUBMIT to that crowd of feminists who have accepted "women’s power" with all the rights and honors pertaining thereto to stand up, speak up, and demand our rights. “Anytime you feel that you deserve to be treated a certain way, whether male or female, black or white, young or old — that is nothing more than simply pride that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.” We all struggle with submission because we all live with pride.

REFUSE TO SUBMIT to fear that tells you that you cannot have a good marriage because of your past. Refuse to allow your fear to keep you from raising children for the Lord. Do not submit to the fear that keeps you from getting involved at church. If you commit to a ministry then you may truly have to cut all ties with the world. You can no longer walk the fence.

REFUSE TO SUBMIT to the lie that you cannot change.The devil wants you to believe that you have failed so many times that you should no longer try. Do not submit to those lies! You can still succeed at your diet, an exercise program, a healthy lifestyle, a new hobby, a life without drug or alcohol addiction. You can succeed at doing a great work for God. You can raise a godly child now, even if you have an older child who is not living for Christ. Stubbornly refuse to believe that you are too weak to make it happen this time. God is for you! You can change for the better!

REFUSE TO SUBMIT to the sinful habit of listening to gossip and criticism. Jesus Christ can empower you to be strong enough to stop talking bad about others! Refuse to help others tear someone down. Do what you have to do to keep a positive spirit toward your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and fellow church members.

REFUSE TO SUBMIT to laziness. This goes for those who have jobs outside the home or inside the home. If you are home, refuse to spend the day in front of the television or computer screen, surfing the net, chatting on line, and blogging. Get up and get to work! If you are on the job, do not waste your employer's money by frittering away the hours. Each day, fight against the laziness that makes you lose your walk with God. Get up and get your Bible open. God needs strong women who will fight the flesh and win spiritual battles.

REFUSE TO SUBMIT to the things that want to destroy your marriage, your children, your usefulness to God. Dig in and fight, not against men, or your pastor, or your kids, or other Christians. Fight the fight of faith. Determine not to lose what is really important in life. REFUSE TO SUBMIT who you are in Christ!

Listen to these words written by another woman in a book "I am a woman by God's design." This is from her chapter "Subordinate but not Inferior."

"Submission is God's design for a woman. Submission is an attitude of obedience. True submission, which is motivated by a genuine desire to be obedient to the heavenly Father, takes no consideration of selfish ends.

What will I get in return, if I submit?

Is he worthy of my submission?

Will I lose my self-identity and my individual rights, if I submit to my husband?

Before a woman can successfully submit to her husband, she must first submit to Christ. Yes, submitting, to the Lord, means giving up all her selfish desires and personal rights. Then, no longer is she alone in her control of her direction and decisions, because the Holy Spirit is to govern her life. That will ultimately affect her emotions, attitudes, and responses."

Principle #1 says, "Let your ACTIONS speak louder than your words.

Let your ACTIONS LOVE your husband to Christ.

Don't remind him about God, remind God in your prayers about your husband.

Examine yourself. Entrust your husband to God and leave the consequences of his ACTIONS to your Heavenly Father.

In the mean time let your submissive behavior be on constant display. It's what one man calls, "the silent preaching of a lovely life."

The Second Principle is found in verse 3 and has to do with APPEARANCE. “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;” Peter’s point is to "AVOID GOING OVERBOARD" by patching up the externals, especially if your internals are lacking. Don't place all your emphasis on the outside. This passage isn't bad-mouthing cosmetics or taking shots at keeping yourself physically attractive. It's just encouraging you to keep it in balance.

The Apostle Paul tells us in I Timothy 2:9-10, “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” Nothing is wrong with cosmetics, jewelry or clothing. Paul in this text is telling women NOT TO ALLOW THE EXTERNAL THINGS to be their criteria for beauty. Remember this: “THE TRUE BEAUTY OF A WOMAN COMES FROM WITH-IN.”

On the other hand, let me ask you, “What does your husband see when you meet him at the door in the evening? You might say, “Preacher, what's so important about appearance?

Just how attractive are you to him when you smell like disinfectant?

Just how attractive are you to him if you meet him looking like an unmade bed?

For sure, you need to be pure within, but don't stop when you get to the outside. From this passage, and that of I Timothy 2 and I Corinthians 11, ladies ought to call attention to the beauty of their hair and face, not to their body. You ought to dress to please your husband. Coming to the Lord’s house you ought to dress as if you are coming into the presence of the King of Kings. You ought to dress your daughters in the same way. There ought to be a difference in the way a Christian dresses as opposed to the rest of the world. Your appearance is a significant principle that helps build a marriage.

The Third Principle has to do with ATTITUDE. We move from the externals in verse 3 to the internals of verse 4 in the phrase "the hidden man of the heart" What characteristic in her attitude does God consider important? He mentions it here. It is the quality of a "meek and quiet spirit." He adds that this quality is of "great price," that could be translated by the word "precious," meaning a quality that is imperishable; it cannot be erased or destroyed. Peter uses this same Greek word for the words "great price" in:

I Peter 1:7 referring to our imperishable faith, "That the trial of your faith, being much more PRECIOUS than the gold that perisheth…"

I Peter 1:19 referring to the imperishable blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, "But with the PRECIOUS blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

Wives, your attitude is that important; it is precious, it is of great price, it cannot be erased, or passed over or destroyed.

When Peter uses the term "meek spirit" he has in mind a grateful spirit. The rights-orientated woman feels that she is OWED certain things, and her expectations can never be satisfied. She chains her husband, children, and others to expectations they cannot possibly fulfill. Yet the woman who has yielded all her expectations to God, has a "meek or grateful spirit."

When Peter uses the term "quiet spirit" he has in mind a woman of tranquility. The wise woman lifts the spirit of her home by speaking words of praise to God, words of sincere appreciation, gratitude, and admiration to others. Critical, belittling words wound the spirit and destroy the atmosphere of the home.

Peter seems to be echoing the words of Solomon from Proverbs 14:1, "Every wise woman buildeth her house, but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands." Before leaving this principle, I want to add that it only takes a little while to doll up the externals (some husbands think it takes forever, but that is a woman for you, the externals sometimes require effort). However, cultivating "the hidden person of the heart" is a life-long process.

The Fourth Principle found in verses 5-6 has to do with ATTENTION. “For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: (6) Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.” You will notice two words here, Sarah submitted and obeyed. Now before you get your feathers ruffles by what this says, it will help to realize the Greek verb for “obeyed” means "she paid attention to him." It represents the idea of attending to the needs of another.

Ladies, please listen closely.

If you are the energetic type, your tendency will be to dash all over the globe, responding to the needs of people everywhere. Everything will clamor for your time. And unless you're careful, they'll get it; if not all of it, most of it. Even church stuff will occupy every hour you'll give.

Over the years, I have met women who are far more concerned about responding to the needs of others outside the home than to that one individual most important to them within the home.

Picture Sarah leaving this note pinned to their tent one evening as Abraham shuffled home from work, bone-tired and dangerously hungry:

Abe: Mutton pot pie in the stone oven. Gone to Torah study with the ladies at Bethel (for you that would be Bible study at church); took the small chariot. Be home late. Don't worry. Be sure to give Isaac herbs for cough at sundown, and by the way, bathe him too, love, Sarah

PS: Don't forget to close all the flaps when you go to bed. Sandstorm is coming and you know how you hate to sweep out the tent.

Hold it, pastor! "If I start being as submissive and obedient as you suggest, my husband will take all kinds of advantage of me. He'll walk all over me. Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile!" Stop and look at verse 6 again, “Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.” There is your promise: God will honor your LOVING and SUPPORTIVE response.

Now, before I leave the ladies principles and get to the husband’s in verse 7 on “Father’s Day,” let me say two things in concludion.

Number 1: In light of verses 5-6, I challenge you who know what is RIGHT to do what is RIGHT. Please STOP and THINK just maybe you need to BACK OFF by giving LESS attention to so many activities outside your home and MORE undivided attention to your husband and your home. For sure, some people won't understand. But on the other hand, you will reap some amazing and rewarding dividends.

Number 2: Notice again verse 1. You see the word "won?" It's a military term. Ladies, if you have an unsaved husband or a spiritually unsympathetic husband, don't sit back and sulk and suffer. Dedicate yourself to Christ, and give your husband over to the Lord. Let Jesus take him captive for the glory of God and ultimately for you.

Nevertheless, be careful of the weapons you use. Make sure they are the weapons of obedience, submission, meekness and quietness. In other words, overcome selfishness with RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Remember our opening statements?

"Marriage is not so much finding the right person, as it is being the right person." As a WIFE are you genuinely ready to come to terms with your role? "Do you love your husband enough to live for Him?"

On what principle do you need to focus? How much do you need to change? Don't continue to say, "If he would only…" No, your focus must be, “Lord change me, so that the Lord may change him.” Allow me to leave you with these two thoughts:

First: From verses 8-9, cultivate a humble spirit. “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: (9) Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.”

Second:Be yourselves found by knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour and Lord.

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If God has spoken to your heart, after reading the sermon “Wives, to your Husbands, say it with Words,” right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior let me know? Please send an e-mail to, pdmikBBM@aol.com and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.

The “Weekly SERMON” was sent as a ministry of Bible Baptist Ministry, 48 Alexie Rd., Hanover Township, PA 18706. Privacy policy: your e-mail address will not be sold, or shared with any third party.

Copy write permission: Because the “Weekly SERMONS” will be reproduced into other formats, PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING: The “Weekly SERMON” in its original form, without any changes, may be copied and re-transmitted by electronic mail, and copies may be printed for individual or ministry purposes, provided that such copying, re-transmission, printing, or other use is not for profit or other commercial purpose. Any copying, re-transmission, distribution, printing, or other use of the “Weekly SERMON” must set forth in full the heading that is given before each “Weekly SERMON.” Any other request for use, please contact Bible Baptist Ministries at pdmikBBM@aol.com or by phone at 570.829.5216.

In His Amazing Grace,

http://BibleBaptistMinistry.org/……/MMXII/19/

We should be Ready!

Pastor David Miklas — Thu, 03 May 2012 00:48:27 +0000

Volume No. 2012 Issue No. 14 Date: April 29, 2012

Publication of the BIBLE BAPTIST MINISTRY, 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706

Phone: 570.829.5216 pdmikBBM@aol.com pastormiklas@aol.com

In Matthew 24:37-42 we read, “And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: (22) For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. (23) But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things. (24) But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, (25) And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. (26) And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. (27) And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. (28) Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: (29) So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. (30) Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. (31) Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. (32) But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. (33) Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” The turmoil among the Arab states in the Middle East is a reminder that the nation of Israel and its neighbors dominate the agenda of history. We don't know the reverberations of every conflict or the consequences of every shift of power. It may be that the youth movements among Arab states will provide new openness for the Gospel. On the other hand, the shifting political structures may lead to increased radicalism, setting the stage for the Antichrist.

It's not wise to be overly dogmatic as we try to interpret current events, and we've got to be careful about false prophets who claim they are either Christ or Antichrist. The twists and turns of history are under God's providential control, and it's best to watch prayerfully so we can take
advantage of open doors for evangelism while awaiting our Lord's return.

We can't be dogmatic about specific events in the headlines, but we can be fully assured that history is His-story, and that the stage is being set for His soon return. We can live every day with confidence and excitement that no matter how disturbing the news reports, our sovereign Lord is in control.

Jesus warned of famines, pestilences, and earthquakes as we grow closer to His return. We see all these things today and marvel at the disasters that are increasing as time draws shorter. But we shouldn't fear. We should take these things as reminders to be watching, waiting, and praying. We should be ready!

Vance Havner wrote, “When things look darkest to the world, they look brightest to the Christian. Our King is coming back!” In the chorus of his hymn “Jesus is Coming Again,” John W. Peterson wrote:

Coming again, Coming Again;

Maybe morning, maybe noon, May be evening and may be soon!

Coming again, Coming Again;

O what a wonderful day it will be – Jesus is coming again!

May God’s blessing be upon you this week as you read and meditate on the 22^nd message from the Book of James 5:1-6, “Your Money: A Blessing or A Curse”

In His Amazing Grace,

http://BibleBaptistMinistry.org/../MMXII/18/

Your Money: A Blessing or A Curse

Pastor David Miklas — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 13:36:43 +0000

Sunday April 29, 2012	Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas	e-mail pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message: Book of James # 22	Text: James 5:1-6

Your Money: A Blessing or A Curse

Introduction: As we continue to probe the very practical book of James, we come to one of those problems all of us face, "If I only had more money, I would be really happy." But as we look around us we find that things do not usually work out that way.

Someone said, "The more money we have, the more we need, and the more we make, the more we spend."

Still another said, "The face of prosperity does not always smile. Many people spend sleepless nights worrying over money as they reach for HIGHER and HIGHER standards of living. It is estimated that about 45% of American families have a hand to mouth existence, from this week’s pay check to the next."

Doctors tell us, "More than half the ulcers in this country arise from emotional and nervous disorders, and more than half of these spring from economic insecurity and money worries."

It appears money is one of the more popular subjects today. Millions of people in our world starve to death every year simply because they did not have enough money to buy food. On the other hand, there are people who have more money than they can possibly use. And yet they, too, are starving, STARVING FOR FULFILLMENT AND MEANING IN LIFE.

Someone described money as "an article which may be used as a universal passport to everything except Heaven, and as a universal provider to everything except happiness."

The Bible does not condemn wealth. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy or owning things. There are at least four general classifications of people and possessions that we can identify.

Number 1, those who are poor without and within. To be poor without means they posses little of this world’s goods. To be poor within means they are unbelievers.

Number 2, those who are rich without and rich within. These are rich both economically and spiritually. We have a number of examples of these in the Bible:

Abraham was a wealthy man and a man of faith.

Job was a rich man, who also found his peace in God.

Joseph of Arimathea who buried Jesus in the Garden tomb was a rich man and a man of faith.

Number 3, those who are poor without and rich within. These people have little in the way of worldly possessions, but they are rich within because they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Number 4, those who are rich without and poor within. This is the group James addresses, the unbelieving plutocrats.

James was dealing with “the Rich and the Famous” in James chapter 5:1-6,

These rich men, against whom James was speaking, had become corrupt by their wealth. He is going to point out that wealth can so easily eat away like a canker, and make us lose our sense of priorities.

In Mark 8:36-37 Jesus said, "For what shall it prophet a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus warned the disciples concerning the transitory nature of wealth. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth or rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

In I Timothy 6:7-10, 17-19 Paul gives us several practical lessons. God’s concern is not with actual wealth, but with our attitude toward wealth.

In verse 8-10 we read, “( And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. (9) But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. (10) For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

In verses 17-19 we read, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; (18) That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; (19) Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”

Perhaps you are thinking, “Pastor, I am not rich. I am just an average middle class American.” Lest you get any thoughts of going to sleep on this one or letting your mind wonder, let me bring you back to reality. There are many average, middle-class Americans saying to themselves: "I need more and more MONEY. I am very materialistic with no time for God." How do you handle your money and materialism? Do your possessions possess you or are you mastering them?

One of the Hebrew words denoting "to be rich" means heavy. Riches and possessions are a burden. Consider this:

"There is a BURDEN in acquiring them. There is a FEAR in keeping them. There is a GUILT in abusing them. There is a SORROW in losing them, and then there is the BURDEN of giving an account for them."

To lay a foundation for the context of this passage, let me share something that is well worth your attention. Someone wrote:

"Before the Lord God made man upon the earth, He first prepared for him a world of useful and pleasant things for his sustenance and delight. In the Genesis account of the creation these are called simply "things." These were made for man's use, but they were always meant to be external to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come. Within him was God, without a thousand gifts that God had showered upon him.

But sin introduced complications and made those very gifts of God a potential source of ruin in the soul. Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and things were allowed to enter. Within the human heart things have taken over. Men by nature have no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer… There is within the human heart a tough, fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets things with a deep and fierce passion.

The pronoun MY and MINE look innocent enough in print, but their constant and universal use is significant. …They are verbal symptoms of our deep disease. The roots of our hearts have grown down into things, and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die. Things have become necessary to us, a development never originally intended. God's gifts now take the place of God, and the whole course of nature is upset by the monstrous substitution."

James in the preceding paragraph of 4:13-17 appears to be dealing with believing businessmen. In chapter 5:1-6 James is dealing with unbelieving businessmen with the obvious omission of the word "brethren or Brother" which is used other places in this epistle 14 times. He returns to the use of "brethren or Brother" in verse 7. This is what James has to say to unbelievers:

FIRST: Worldly Wealth is Temporary, verses 1-3a, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. (2) Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. (3) Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire.” Now with his usual frankness, James confronts wealthy unbelievers with their doom. The first point James makes is that material things do not provide ultimate happiness. A person can be wealthy, but still miserable. Notice, would you, verse 1, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.”

One millionaire said, "The poorest man I know is the man who has nothing but money.

Another said, "Never possess anything, have it and use it, but never lay claim to it as yours."

These individuals were simply echoing what James wrote when he warned that the rich would "weep and howl."

Weep is an expression of a bitter sob, such as the wailing for the dead.

Howl is an expression of grief. It creates a picture of one in agony.

Let me pause to say there is a note of prophecy in James’ message.

Verse 1, "that shall come upon you"

Verse 3, "shall be a witness against you"

Verse 5, "you have nourished your heart as in the days of slaughter"

James was echoing the Lord's prophetic words as He laments over Jerusalem from Luke 19:43-44, "For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee around, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in the one stone upon another; because thou knowest not the time of thy visitation."

What Jesus and James said was literally fulfilled in 70 AD when the Roman army led by Titus besieged Jerusalem for 143 days and finally destroyed it. One million lives were lost including many of the wealthy Jews who had rejected their Messiah and instead had put their hope in their riches. These people were counting on all their prosperity to keep them happy.

James is warning us of the subtle sinfulness of idle wealth. Remember this, "THE LAW OF LIVING IS GIVING." "IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE."

If our RICHES are to be useful they must be used.

If our TALENTS are to be useful they must be used.

If our TIME is to be useful, it must be spend for others.

If the Gospel we believe is real it must be given out to others.

Jesus said to us in Luke 6:38, "Give and it shall be given unto you…For with the same measure that literally you have given out it shall be given back to you."

Now the problem James points out in verses 2-3 is of UNUSED MONEY. Your wealth has gotten you nowhere, if you gather it just to hold onto it. Listen to this concerning possessions,

HOLD ME, and I will dry up your soul, and leave you barren and destitute. KEEP ME and I will destroy you. SPEND ME for self and I will become your master, you my slave. GIVE ME and I will become your slave, you my master. And I will return in streams of spiritual resource to your soul.

These phrases in verse 2-3 describe the three basic kinds of wealth in the ancient world.

Verse 2 "Riches" would no doubt refer to the commodity of "grain." While the word "corruption" would refer to the idea of "rotting", indicating the grain stored is now spoiled.

Verse 2 Fine clothes were another measure of wealth. But because of the extreme heat in the Middle East without even moth-balls to preserve them, their rich clothes became full of holes.

Verse 3 Here James speaks of gold and silver being ruined. In the ancient world these were often buried. When left in the ground for a period of time, they would corrode, thus losing their value.

And just as riches spoil, so does the spirit of those who hoard. Time and disuse turn people’s attitudes toward life into bitterness and disappointment. God never intended for us not to use the TREASURE, TALENTS and TIME He gave to us. We are to let God have access to them.

What happens when we don't use what God has given to us? Here is a principle that applies to our physical talents, our mental and emotional attributes, our possessions, and our time. This principle can also apply to everything that we are.

God never intended anything he gave us to be WASTED, either by ABUSE, MISUSE, or LACK of USE. Therefore, either use it or lose it.

Jesus said in Matthew 16:25, "For whosoever will save his life will lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." We only really have what we give away. WHAT WE GIVE, WE RECEIVE BACK.

SECOND: Worldly Wealth is a Temptation, verses 3b-6. “Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. (4) Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. (5) Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. (6) Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.” Here James gives us a graphic picture of the behavior of wealthy people:

To accumulate more and more, verse 3c, "Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days." Another way of saying this would be, "They never had enough to satisfy them." They were the perfect example of the rich fool Jesus spoke of in Luke 19 who tore down his barns to build bigger ones. Unfortunately, that very night he died leaving it all behind and he went into eternity without God.

To be unfair and dishonest, verse 4, They were selfish to the core. They were unfair, unethical and dishonest in failing to pay their employees. James goes up on his toes and shouts out, "you have robbed the workmen, but "The Lord of sabaoth (the Lord of Hosts), has heard their cries."

To be self indulgent, verse 5, This should not surprise us, as we live in a society that is attempting to satisfy itself with more and more things. But this gathering of things will only lead to "the day of slaughter." Another way of expressing this action is "we are only preparing ourselves for a bitter end." Remember this, “The unjust acts of the unsaved are not forgotten, for a lack of judgment today does not mean a lack of judgment tomorrow.”

To be unethical and immoral, verse 6, Money causes some to kill. James rebukes the rich for taking advantage of the righteous.

In 1923 a group of men who were considered the most successful financiers of their day met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. Collectively these tycoons controlled more wealth than there was in the United States treasury at that time. For years the newspapers and magazines were printing their success stories and urging the youth of the nation to follow their examples.

Three decades later in 1950, a follow-up study discovered all seven success stories ended tragically. To which someone said, “It may take intelligence to make a lot of money, but it takes even greater wisdom to handle it.”

All of these men had learned how to make money, but not one of them had learned how to live. Indeed James was right when he penned verse 5 to lower the boom on those who are rich in this world, but who have turned away from God and rejected Jesus Christ. They were not merely HEADED for serious trouble, they were ALREADY in serious trouble.

You may be thinking, “Pastor, I am not rich and wealthy. I am a struggling, middle-class American, trying to make ends meet, living from paycheck to paycheck.” However, since "not all Scripture is written TO US, but all Scripture is written FOR US," there is a message for every Christian in this passage. For what happens to our TALENTS, TIME, and TREASURES is but a symbol of what is happening in our soul. Let me give you Three Keys from these thoughts.

One: The Key of Contentment, is found in I Timothy 6:6-10, "But having food and raiment let us be therewith content."

Contentment brings a thankful heart for what you have, against what you desire and cannot have.

Contentment enables you to live within your present level of income and not on the level you could live on if you received more money. It's your attitude that makes the difference. The psalmist sums it up in Psalm 127:2, "It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep."

Two: The Key of Discipline

It takes discipline to live within your means.

It takes discipline to thank God for what you have.

It takes discipline to build up sales resistance.

There is nothing wrong with having money, nor is there anything wrong with having and enjoying things. It's when material things get between you and God that your whole sense of values goes haywire, and God cannot get through to you.

If you are SULKING over what you cannot have, you are limiting what God wants to give you.

If you are SETTING your heart only on the material things you do have, you are passing up the kind of riches that count for eternity.

Three: The Key to Getting is Giving. Jesus said in:

Matthew 16:25, "For whosoever will save his life will lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

Acts 20:35, "It is more blessed to GIVE than to receive."

My friends, how we use what God has given to us is a direct testimony of what is spiritually true in our lives.

If we misuse the talents God has given to us,

IF we misuse the riches and possessions God has given to us,

If we misuse the time God has given us to live,

We are simply showing that there is a basic disorder in our souls. We are not to try to hang on to what we cannot keep, but to be good stewards using our talent so that God can use and bless it.

Jesus said we can lay up treasures in heaven. How do we do that? We do it by bringing what we possess under the Lordship of Jesus and letting him use it. Our part is to make wise investment with what God has given to us so that it can be paying eternal dividends. I challenge you on the authority of the Word of God to SURRENDER all you have to Jesus Christ with eternal values in view.

Let me close by asking, “What happens when we do not allow God access to what He has given to us?” Jesus said in Mark 8:36-37, "For what shall it prophet a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

For just a moment, forget about your bank account and consider your soul’s account. My friends, money and things can't buy you heaven or eternal life. Jesus with His own blood already paid that price for you at Calvary. I challenge you on the authority of the Word of God to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."

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If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon “Your Money: A Blessing or A Curse” then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

In His Amazing Grace,

http://BibleBaptistMinistry.org/……/MMXII/18/

Don’t Leave God Out of Your Planning

Pastor David Miklas — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 13:10:40 +0000

Sunday April 22, 2012	Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas	e-mail pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message: Book of James # 21	Text: James 4:13-17

"Don’t Leave God Out of Your Planning"

Introduction: Have you ever wondered why God has not revealed to you all there is to know about your personal future? I believe God was wise in His decision to veil the future from our eyes. Listen to this:

"God will not suffer man to have the knowledge of things to come, for if a man knew what the morrow would bring, he would live in constant fear. Dying, he would die a thousand deaths before dying just once. Fainting, he would faint a thousand times under a stroke that had yet to be delivered. GOD HIDES THE FUTURE FROM OUR EYES THAT WE MIGHT LIVE IN CONFIDENCE AND HOPE IN GOD."

In this concluding section of James 4, we are reminded that while we cannot predict the future, we must learn to face it honestly. Herein we read James 4:13-17,

“Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: (14) Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (15) For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. (16) But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. (17) Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

James is saying, "let's talk about life, about your plans for tomorrow, and when you do, we had better see that God is included."

James underscores what the Lord said in Matthew 6:31-33, "Therefore, do not worry, saying what shall WE EAT, or what shall WE DRINK, or how shall WE BE CLOTHED? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For our heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

Psalms 90:12 teaches us about the brevity of life, "…teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom."

James even attacks another game of some people, “Playing God.” In these verses he is attacking the kind of horizontal thinking that presumptuously plans as though God did not even exist.

FIRST: Let's talk about your LIFE: James has already reproved his readers for demonstrating a spirit of independence from God.

They sought the world's pleasure instead of loving God verse 4, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

They sought to judge one another, and in so doing they sought to evade the ultimate Judge…God Himself, verse 11-12, “Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. (12) There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”

Now the final indifference is uncovered in verses 13-14 where they have planned their future and omitted God from their plans. Here James calls our attention to three things.

Number 1: Don't be presumptuous about the COMPLEXITIES of Life, verse 13, “Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain.” There is nothing wrong with planning, but there is a certain arrogance about it if we make our plans without God, as if God is of no consequence in our lives.

"Today or tomorrow" is a picture of those who plan their whole life without God. What a description of our modern, materialistic society. Maybe you are an honest man with a good character and reputation, but in your affairs you have left God out of the picture. That’s PRIDE.

God is interested in our human affairs both present and future. There is nothing wrong with planning and making a profit. James was speaking to those with high aspirations that were not high enough. As Christian businessmen, they should have considered eternity and consulted with the Eternal God.

James is not criticizing the act of planning ahead, or advocating haphazard organization.

There is nothing wrong with planning for job advancement.

There is nothing wrong with planning for a new home.

There is nothing wrong with planning for some future aspects of the ministry.

We know God condones wise planning.

But our plans must always be made according to His will, acknowledging His sovereignty over our lives.

There is nothing wrong in having goals in life, but for the Christian the ultimate goal must be the “GLORY OF GOD.”

James denounces planning that leaves God out, planning that thinks human ingenuity alone is all that is necessary. That, my friends, is the height of practical, godless atheism.

Number 2: Don't be presumptuous about the UNCERTAINTY of life, verse 14a. Here James is saying don't be presumptuous, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the tomorrow." Tomorrow’s circumstances are totally uncertain. An unexpected injury, the sudden death of a spouse, the loss of a job, or a host of other surprises can instantly and completely change our lives. Some of you know what I am talking about:

You live your life leaving God out of your plans, as though you are the absolute lords of tomorrow.

You live as though you are the captain of your fate and the master of your destiny.

James is talking about a man who is ignorant of the future and yet acts as though he knows it all.

Number 3: Don't be presumptuous about the BREVITY of life, verse 14b, “For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” Those who have failed to comprehend the COMPLEXITY of life, and have failed to comprehend the UNCERTAINTY of life ("For what is your life?"), have also failed to comprehend the BREVITY of life, "It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

James asks one of the most profound questions of the Bible when he asks, "What is your life?" He is talking about the time between birth and death. He is talking about the DASH of your life. In the Bible, at least 18 metaphors express the brevity and uncertainty of life. Here are some of them:

Job 7:6-7, "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope. Oh, remember that my life is a breath."

Job14:1-2, "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not."

Psalm 39:4-5, "Lord make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days…that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreath, and my age is as nothing before thee."

Psalm 103: 15-16, "As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more."

An unknown writer has captured the way life slips through our fingers with these words:

When as a child, I laughed and wept, TIME CREPT.

When as a youth, I dreamed and talked, TIME WALKED.

When I became a full-grown man, TIME RAN.

When older still I grew, TIME FLEW.

Soon I shall find in passing on, TIME GONE.

Remember the story of the rich man Jesus told in Luke 12? He was a very wealthy farmer who looked into the future and decided that he needed to build bigger barns so that he would be able to become even wealthier. His ultimate goal was a leisurely retirement. In Luke 12:19 we read, "And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat drink and be merry."

In the parable the man is called a fool, not because he was planning for the future, but because he thought he was in total control of it. On the very night when he had so carefully laid out his plans, he died and became the fulfillment of Proverbs 27:1, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."

James asks, "What is your life? It is even a vapor." You are like the mist in the fog of the morning, it is soon gone. Since life is so brief, we cannot afford to merely "spend our lives, and certainly we do not want to waste our lives." We must invest our lives in the things that are eternal. Again, Psalm 90:12 tell us, "So number your days that you may apply your hearts to wisdom."

Someone was asked, "what he thought he was born for.” His answer, "That I may mediate upon heaven." That is what Jesus encouraged us to do in Matthew 6:19-21, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

"What is your life?" Have you tasted of the real meaning of life that Jesus came to bring? Or is your existence full of "sound and fury, signifying nothing." Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have life more abundantly." My friends, a realization of the brevity of life should lead you to a full-hearted trust in Jesus Christ. Real life, eternal life, begins when one receives Jesus Christ as Savior.

The unsaved man may have good intentions, but good intentions are only good for the moment. What about the next moment? This may come as a surprise, but do you realize an unsaved man is wasting his time? I believe any man or woman who has never taken Jesus by faith as Saviour and Lord is wasting the "Few Days" of life that God grants them, regardless of how prosperous or successful they may be.

How often have I heard this phrase, "I hope to be saved, I am going to be saved someday." Oh, how many live for today and say I'll receive Jesus tomorrow? Tomorrow I will get saved. I believe the word tomorrow is defined by the word procrastination. Remember Proverbs 27:1, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow, this is a word that has:

BLASTED more dreams,

BLIGHTED more hopes,

WRECKED more careers,

RUINED more lives, and

DAMMED more souls into a Christ-less eternity in hell.

Paul said in II Corinthians 6:2, "Now is the day of salvation, behold now is the accepted time."

He also said in Hebrews 2:3, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?"

Found in Isaiah 55:6-7 we read, "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near, let the wicked forsake his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts."

The believer in Christ may also have good intentions; but many times I have heard:

Tomorrow I'll begin reading my Bible.

Tomorrow I'll start to Tithe.

Tomorrow I'll witness to my friends and family.

Tomorrow I'll start to live for Jesus.

Tomorrow I'll start to serve the Lord.

My friends, live for Jesus today, and when tomorrow becomes today, then keep on living for Jesus. This day, yield your entire life to the Lord. David said in Psalm 143:10, "Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God."

Remember Jesus is coming soon, I believe it is very possible it could be today.

If you are without Christ and unsure about eternity, now is the time to receive Jesus as your Saviour. The Bible has written the word NOW in large letters in the Gospel message. "Behold NOW is the accepted time, behold NOW is the day of salvation."

The challenge to you and I who are believers in Jesus Christ is to live for Him today. We cannot count on tomorrow. Remember, "Yesterday is a canceled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is the only cash we have."

It has been said to young people, "Grab all the gusto you can get – for tomorrow it may be gone." Now, the second part of that statement is absolutely correct, “for tomorrow it may be gone.” But the first part, "Grab all the gusto you can get," has been misused. Solomon misused it:

He had all the women he wanted.

He had all the wealth he needed.

He had all the wine he could drink.

He had all the wisdom available.

Yet, when he comes to the end of his TOMORROWS, and realizes he has it all but still comes up empty-handed, Solomon urges us in Ecclesiastics 12:1 to, "Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw near when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them."

To those of you who are still young, remember the pleasure of today could be the ruin of tomorrow. So, live for Jesus today. Allow Him to mark your every step, so when you look back, when tomorrow becomes today, you can thank God because you have not forgotten the God of your youth.

Remember life is uncertain, death is sure. In Hebrews 9:27 we are told, "It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgment."

Remember this "Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is uncertain unless you know the God of certainty. It therefore behooves us to spend every moment of our lives in the RIGHT place doing the RIGHT thing for Jesus."

SECOND: Let's talk about your PLANS, verse 15, “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” Did you notice the phrase "If the Lord will." For us, this phrase unfolds the reality of the will and purpose of God.

We are NOT victims on the sea of life, tossed by every whim of chance.

We are NOT driftwood to be tossed about by the storms that arise.

We are children of the King, objects of his love and care. He wants us to walk WITH HIM into the future.

Someone said, "When we come by faith to Him, we walk into the future, not in the arrogance of our own self-sufficiency and our own plans, but in the assurance of his presence and provision for us. God is interested in what happens to us and how our lives are used."

We are to understand, acknowledge, and accept his will, knowing if our plans are to be fulfilled they will be within the providence of God.

We are to live in an awareness of our lives being are under his inspection.

We are to look toward the future with a spirit that says, "If it is God's will and purpose, we shall carry it out."

James reminds us of Solomon's words in Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

THIRD: Let's talk about your ATTITUDE, verses 16-17. The key to understanding the presumptions of the future is found in verse 16, “But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.” Simply put, the problem is PRIDE.

In PRIDE, they planned without God because they thought they were the masters of their fate.

In PRIDE, they presumed about tomorrow because they thought nothing could happen outside of their control.

In PRIDE they procrastinated because they assumed they would be able to do tomorrow what they chose not to do today.

We have made our plans without God. We have decided what we are going to do, where we are going to live, what direction our lives will take, all because we are counting on tomorrow. THE BOASTING DESCRIBED HERE IS CONDEMNED AS EVIL. If we do not let God be a part of our todays, we will not only find we have sinned, but we will also find our tomorrows crashing in about us.

Let's put a handle on this passage from James 4:13-17.

First, James was saying that in all our planning we must put God first. "We must always seek first His kingdom and His righteousness."

Second: James was teaching that we must live our lives on earth realizing that all we are and have comes from Him. We have no right to take credit for our own accomplishments. The more God blesses, the more we should praise and thank Him.

Third: Psalm 90:12 tells us we must learn to number our days, "So number your days that you may apply your hearts to wisdom." Our prayer ought to be "Lord teach me how to number my days and recognize how few they are, and help me to spend them as I should." How may we do that?

Leave the griping, and complaining behind.

Leave the fault-finding as a canceled check.

Learn to rejoice and forgive TODAY.

Learn to weep with those who weep TODAY.

Learn to love those who need to be loved TODAY.

Learn to serve the Lord TODAY.

Learn to lift up the fallen ones TODAY.

Learn to live in the center of God's will TODAY.

Learn to praise the Lord TODAY!

Do not bemoan the days you cannot recall, thank God for the days you yet have. The Psalmist said in Psalms 118:24, "This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it."

I challenge you to make TODAY, and all your TOMORROWS count for God. Let us stop looking back, and press forward – looking forward to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I challenge you and I call upon our God to raise up a host of believers here at our church who will keep in mind,:

Only one life, ‘twill soon be past.

Only what's done for Christ will last!

With that challenge, I call your attention to verse 17, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

Is someone here who knows you ought to trust Jesus TODAY?

Is someone here who knows you ought to be baptized TODAY?

Is someone here who knows you ought to do something good for Jesus TODAY?

James says if you KNOW to do something good and DON'T, IT IS SIN. Right now, may you do TODAY what the Holy Spirit urges you to do.

********************************************************************

If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon “Don’t Leave God Out of Your Planning” then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

In His Amazing Grace,

http://BibleBaptistMinistry.org/……/MMXII/17/

Sin of Slander

Pastor David Miklas — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 12:24:31 +0000

Sunday April 8, 2012	Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas	e-mail pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message: Book of James # 20	Text: James 4:11-12

"The Sin of Slander"

Introduction: Once again in this service we want to call your attention to the Ten Commandments of James 4:6-12. Thus far we have looked at nine of the Ten Commandments from verses 6-10. Today we come to the tenth found in verses 11-12:

“Speak not evil one of another, brethren, He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”

In verse 7, James says we are to "resist the devil." The noun for "devil" in the Greek is "DIABOLOS" which is sometimes translated "slanderer." The chief work of the devil is to slander God's people. While most of us would never set out knowingly to do the work of the devil, that's exactly what we are doing when we speak evil of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

James addresses those whose favorite “Christian” pastime is playing God. Written between the lines of verse 11 is the Christian’s objective of the game: exalt yourself as superior to other Christians, as you slander them in various ways. James exhortation not to speak evil (slander) of another Christian beings every one of us face-to-face with our natural tendencies. To be perfectly honest, I had to conclude that at times I have come up short in this area of my life when measured by God's standard.

As we have gone through the book of James, and now read verse 11, it appears there must have been a real problem in the church with people wrongfully using their tongues. In each of these 4 chapters, James has made some clear statements about how to communicate.

James 1:19-20: As believers we should listen carefully and get all the facts before we draw any conclusions. When we do speak, we should not be motivated by a quick-tempered anger.

James 2:12-13: We’ll be judged by God for the way we use our tongue. Practically speaking, this verse means we will be treated in the same way we have treated others. "CRITICAL PEOPLE BREED COUNTER-CRITICISM TOWARD THEMSELVES.”

James 3:6, 9-10: If we praise God with our words, and at the same time slander our brother-in-Christ with our words, we are violating the will of God.

Now as we return to James 4:11-12, I want to call your attention to three areas, all beginning with the letter "P."

First: "The Prohibition:" James says we are to "Speak not evil one of another." This is a profound statement used also in:

Psalm 101:5, "Who so privately slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut off…"

Proverbs 10:18, "He that uttered a slander is a fool."

Perhaps you say it is human nature to find something wrong with someone, particularly if we do not like them. Maybe you have heard this one, "You ought to know some of the Pastor's faults, I thought it would be best to tell you, so you can be on guard and pray for him." My friend, that's slander. It’s been said that "Slander is murder, by use of the tongue." Anyway you say it, or think it, or express it you are JUDGING.

In most cases you are expressing the fault because someone has become the object of your hatred or dislike and you want them to look BAD.

In turn, you think you are making yourself look GOOD, so others can jump on your band wagon to ostracize the object of your slander.

Now this first phase "Speak not evil one of another" could include the idea "Do not speak evil of our brethren, even in your minds." You know what I am talking about. Have you ever walked around all day just chewing-out someone in your mind, accusing them, all the while patting yourself on the back, and at the same time kicking them. No, you may not be saying anything, but you sure are thinking it. You've done it, I know I have, and it’s wrong.

Now in most cases the individual whom you are talking about has no idea what you are thinking. He doesn't know you are reaming him out in your mind. BUT, GOD KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE THINKING! In I Chronicles 28:9 we read, "The Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts." Just because others did not know what you were thinking does not mean God did not, and therefore in His sight, you have engaged in the sin of slander.

Now the words "speak evil" comes from a combination of two Greek words meaning to “talk down.” It’s the idea of talking about one person to another with the goal of lowering your listener’s estimate of that third person.

Those who play this game do so only when the person being talked about is not around to defend themselves. And there is usually little concern about accuracy. All this is neatly covered up, however, with the phony words such as:

“Stop me If I’m wrong, but…” or

“Perhaps I shouldn’t say this, but…” or

“I don’t mean to be critical, but…”

As a result, CARELESS, THOUGHTLESS TALK spews forth in our conversation.

"Slander emits a three-fold poison; it injures the teller, the hearer, and the person concerning whom the tale is told."

A little boy, in making an attempt at reciting the prayer he had heard in church, said, "And forgive us our trash-baskets, as we forgive those who trash-basket against us."

Make no mistake about it. The tongue problem has taken its toll in the church over the years.

The use of the Tongue has blasted more lives, ruined more reputations and sent more people down to despair.

We have too much at stake in the eternal souls of men, women, boys and girls to put up with gossip, slander or mud-slinging. If you are thinking it, confess it to God, but don't pass it on by any means.

Selfishness is at the root of deprecating others and there is far too much of that going on among Christians. Too many of us are conceited, thinking we are the best Christians in the world. Our minds and wills have become so permeated with self, that when we speak about others, CRITICISM and DEVALUATION becomes automatic.

Have you ever stopped to think of the excruciating circumstances going on in brother or sister’s life?

Have you ever stopped to understand the problems through which they might be going?

Have you ever stopped to consider that a brother or sister in Christ might not have the same spiritual understanding you have?

It would be a sobering thing if we stopped to listen to God's opinion of us before we voiced our opinion of others. Perhaps then, we would surely be less critical of others.

Please notice in this passage that James uses the term “brethren” and “brother” three times. All together he uses the term 14 times in the book. James continually reminds these Christians they are "family." They belong to each other and should be treating each other properly.

Why should we as Christians treat one another properly in our speech? It's because we are part of a family, the family of God.

In Romans 12:10 we read, "Be kindly affectioned or devoted to one another with brotherly love."

In Galatians 6:10 we are to, "do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."

James tells us hurtful speech within the fellowship of faith is prohibited. "STOP SLANDERING YOUR BROTHER."

Second: "The Presumption:" James is saying it is presumptuous for us to play God. That's what we do when we judge one another. The word “judge” in verse 11 means “to pronounce condemnation upon someone.” In order to judge someone rightly, it requires the kind of complete understanding about a person’s thoughts and motives that only God possesses.

Unfortunately, this is so true: "The Christian church is the only army in the world that buries its wounded. If someone is hurt, rather than being redemptive and restoring, we expand our energy in attacking them, condemning them, beating them up and then burying them. We seem to always look for reasons to be UNKIND and CRITICAL." It seems we are all too eager to play God.

You will notice James tells us when we speak against a brother or sister in Christ we are speaking "against the Law." Four times he uses the word “law” in verse 11. Here James is probably referring to what he has identified earlier in 2:8 as the "Royal Law" of love which states, "Love thy neighbor as thyself."

"To slander one another" is to relegate God to a second rate position and elevate ourselves to a place of superiority.

"To slander one another" is to deliberately violate Christ's new commandment which He gave to His disciples in John 13:34, "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved you…"

One of the games Christians play is the game of averages. Have you heard about it? Probably, since it is so common. If we average the keeping of four out of ten laws of God toward others, we feel that we aren't doing too badly. But on the other points, we are saying God doesn't matter. That is why there is so much frustration and unhappiness among Christians. Remember Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” That means all of them, not just the ones you pick and choose to obey.

"If thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge." In other words, WE DON'T BOTHER TO OBEY THE LAW, WE JUST TELL OTHERS WHAT THEY OUGHT TO DO. We apply it as we see fit. My friends:

God's law is not given to us for our approval or opinion.

God's law is not given to us to decide whether we are going to keep it or not keep it.

God's law was given for us to OBEY.

James goes on to say in verse 12, "There is only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and destroy." To judge is God's prerogative and his alone, not ours!

To take the law of God in our own hands is the height of arrogance and pride. Pride is at the root of criticism towards others. "IF WE ARE BUILDING OURSELVES UP BY TEARING OTHERS DOWN," James is saying,

WHO ARE YOU, to judge another?

WHO ARE YOU to play God with someone else's life?

WHO ARE YOU to cast the first stone, when you are just as guilty?

We have accepted the prohibition, and we have recognized the presumption. All that’s left is to put the principles into practice.

Third: “The Practice:” In Ephesians 4:29 we see the foundation of correct conversation, where Paul said, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." If this be your goal, let me give you 10 commandments to avoid slander.

Commandment #1: Thou shall LISTEN before speaking. In James 1:19 we read, "Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;" Did you notice the order, we are to listen first before we speak. We are to listen first before we make a judgment and act in anger, "let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;"

Commandment #2: Thou shall SEARCH OUT the facts before you go to your brother about the matter. In Proverbs 13:18 we read. "Poverty and shame shalt be to him that refuseth instruction…" We are to get all the facts about the matter. Our problem is we sometimes "shout off our mouth" before we have all the facts.

Commandment #3: Thou shall EXAMINE thyself. In Matthew 7:3, 5 Jesus said, "And why beholdest thou the mote (or splinter) that is in thy brothers eye, but consider not the beam (or a log) that is in thine own eye. Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thy own eye, and then shalt THOU SEE CLEARLY to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye." How inexcusable it is for one with a beam in his eye to notice a speck of dust in another’s eye. Before he can help others, he needs to be right with God.

Commandment #4: Thou shall not go to anyone except thy brother who has trespassed. In Matthew 18:15 we are told, "Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his faults between thee and him ALONE…" This certainly would avoid slander. The text tells us, we are to first go ALONE to the one with whom we know has wronged us or who has a problem in his life. Notice the result, “…if he shall HEAR thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” Not only have we been able to help a brother see his fault, or problem, but we have made peace with him, and nobody, that is nobody, knows what was between us.

Commandment #5: Thou shall ask the Lord for the RIGHT TIME and the RIGHT WORD: In Proverbs 15:23 we read, "A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth; and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!"

Commandment #6: Thou shall be HONEST in thy speech. In Ephesians 4:25 we read, “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.” We are to speak the truth in Love. We are to let our Nay be Nay and our Yea be Yea. Lying or flattery has no place in our communication.

Commandment #7: Thou shall keep all matters CURRENT. In Ephesians 4:26 we read, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” The verse underscores the fact we are to settle an issue as soon as possible. Don't let a problem linger. Don't hold on to it; deal with it right away.

Commandment #8: Thou shall find ways to help the person CORRECT the problem, if need be. In Ephesians 4:28 we read, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” This verse in principle is saying, help them to understand the wrong in their lives, and then at the same time provide a way to correct it so as to do that which is right.

Commandment #9: Thou shall not attack the PERSON, rather thou shall attack the PROBLEM. In Ephesians 4:29 we read, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” My words ought to LIFT up not TEAR DOWN.

Commandment #10: Thou shall ACT and not REACT. In Ephesians 4:30 we read, “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God…” How do I grieve the Holy Spirit? I do so by vicious, unkind, slanderous talk against another. What is the solution? Notice verse 31-32. “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and EVIL SPEAKING, be PUT AWAY from you, with all malice: And be ye KIND one to another, TENDERHEARTED, FORGIVING one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” AMEN and AMEN!!!

Again James speaks out, "Don't slander your brother." Here we are encouraged to remove that which can and well destroy harmony in the fellowship. Perhaps this poem will help us evaluate this aspect of our lives:

I stood on the street of a busy town,

watching men tearing a building down.

With a "ho, heave, ho," and a lusty yell,

they swung a beam and a side wall fell.

I asked the foreman of the crew,

Are those men as skilled as those you'd hired if you wanted to build?

"Ah, no" he said, "No indeed, just common labor is all I need."

"I can tear down as much in a day or two

As would take skilled men a year to do."

And then I thought as I went my way,

Just which of these two roles am I trying to play?

Have I walked life's road with care

Measuring each deed with rule and square?

Or am I one of those on the wrecking crew who roam the town

Content with the labor of tearing down?

Do you have a critical or careless tongue? Be careful – think, before you answer that question. Maybe you need to allow the Lord to tame it. My friend the secret is not found in SELF-CONTROL, but in CHRIST'S CONTROL.

David said in Psalms 19:14, "let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O Lord…"

He also said in Psalm 141:3, "O Lord set a watch before my mouth, keep the door of my lips."

On the basis of this we ought to make Frances Havergale’s song our prayer to God: "take my lips and let them be filled with messages for thee."

********************************************************************

If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon “The Sin of Slander” then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

In His Amazing Grace,

http://BibleBaptistMinistry.org/……/MMXII/15/

When Sunday Came

Pastor David Miklas — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:18:09 +0000

Volume No. 2012 Issue No. 11 Date: April 1, 2012

Publication of the BIBLE BAPTIST MINISTRY, 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706

Phone: 570.829.5216 pdmikBBM@aol.com pastormiklas@aol.com

In the Gospel of Matthew 28:1-7 we read, “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. (2) And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. (3) His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: (4) And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. (5) And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. (6) He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. (7) And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.”

As dark as the day seemed to be and as discouraged as the disciples were, Sunday made all the
difference. Even though He had told them in advance in Luke 24:7; they did not connect the dots (as we say) when the crisis came.

Crucifixion is such an ugly, traumatic event. The shock and the sadness attending it create deep wounds. Death is made all the more real by the entombment of the body. The garden tomb was sealed with a huge stone. Roman guards were posted to secure the situation.

Starting Wednesday night, Thursday was one day, Friday made two, and Saturday, three of the full days and three full nights. These were days of silence and sorrow. Nothing was stirring! It was all over, except coping with the realty. Then Sunday came!

Oh, my soul, check it out! Sometime after 6:00 p.m. on Saturday (the Jews counted a day
from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.), the Saviour, crucified and buried, walked out of the tomb alive and
well, resurrected from the dead and released from the grave. Wednesday was incomprehensible! Thursday, Friday and Saturday posed questions which seemed to have no answers! But never mind the critics, the cranks, the naysayers; never mind whoever may mock and jeer; never mind whatever seems impossible. Sunday is forthcoming!

When the sun rose Sunday morning, the Son had already risen from the grave. Death had been conquered. Sin had been atoned. Salvation had been secured. The Devil had been defeated, and Hell had been robbed of its victims.

Sunday makes all the difference. Defeat and destruction are no longer our lot. Because "he is
risen…" (Matthew 28:6), you and I have a hope that brings "joy unspeakable and full of glory…" (I Peter 1:8). When the Devil shows up in your life and shows off his glitz and glitter remind him that he is a whipped dog whose bark is bigger than his bite. Preach to yourself the great truth that "greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (I John 4:4). Stand up, be counted, and rise above the fray! By faith we have everlasting life that is bestowed upon us when we are "begotten … again" (I Pet. 1:3). The other six days may bring all kinds of stress or burdens to you, but because of the triumphant resurrection of Jesus, don't you forget that Sunday is coming! Amen!

May again your heart be enraptured during this Passion week! Take this time leading up to the RESSURRECTION to prayerfully read and meditate on the message entitled “The Impact of the Resurrection.”

In His Amazing Grace,

http://BibleBaptistMinistry.org/../MMXII/14/

Impact of the Resurrection

Pastor David Miklas — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 19:40:26 +0000

Sunday April 1, 2012	Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas	e-mail pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message: Easter – Resurrection	Text: John 20:1-10

''The Impact of the Resurrection''

Introduction: It is a fact of history that Christ was CRUCIFIED for our sins at Calvary. But an even greater fact of history is Christ ROSE from the grave. When approaching the subject of the RESURRECTION, I always feel as though God is saying, "Take thy shoes from off thy feet, for the ground whereon thou standest is holy ground."

A philosopher once proclaimed, "You Christians live on the fragrance of an empty tomb."

Someone rightly said, "Christianity begins where other religions end, with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. All other religions of the world can point to a FOUNDER; and a founder's grave, but we can say as we point to an empty tomb, Our Founder was buried there and on the third day He came out of the tomb."

The question being asked in this Easter service is "What impact does the resurrection have upon your life today?" In answering this question we need to read from the text, in John 20:1-16,

“The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. (2) Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. (3) Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. (4) So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. (5) And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. (6) Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, (7) And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. (8) Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. (9) For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. (10) Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. (11) But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, (12) And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. (13) And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. (14) And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. (15) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. (16) Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.”

Now from this text let me focus your attention on FOUR truths of the resurrection in answer to the question, "What impact does the resurrection have upon your life today?"

First: The impact of the resurrection is upon “WHEN IT OCCURRED.” Again notice the opening words in verse 1, "The first day of the week…" As you study your Bible, you will discover that the Holy day of the week before the crucifixion was not the first day of the week, Sunday; rather it was the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, Saturday. However, beginning with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is a shift from the SEVENTH day – Saturday, to the FIRST day – Sunday.

In Exodus 20:8-11 God gave to us the fourth commandment where we read, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (9) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: (10) But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: (11) For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Here God tells us how we are to act upon this special day called the Sabbath. This was a very sacred and solemn holy day.

In John 20:1 we read, “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre…” Notice the phrase "the first day." As you begin to read the New Testament, first the disciples and then the church, began to make "the first day" more significant than the seventh day Saturday, or the Sabbath day. They began to make "the first day" of the week the sacred day of rest, reflection and worship of God. Even Paul declared in I Corinthians 16:1-2 it is upon the “first day” of the week when we are to bring the collection unto the house of God.

In Matthew 28:1 we read “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.” Would you notice it was, "In the end of the Sabbath" when the women came "to see the sepulchre." I believe there is a deeper meaning to the saying "In the end of the Sabbath." Not only was it the end of this day but it was truly "the END of the Sabbath," as far as the commemoration of a special day was concerned. Thus the Sabbath was abolished by the resurrection of Jesus.

Strictly speaking, THERE IS NO SABBATH, during this age of grace. We worship on the "Lord's Day" the first day of the week. To speak of the Lord's Day as "the Christian Sabbath" is to speak in error. There is a difference.

The Sabbath Day or the seventh day commemorates the completion of God's great work of CREATION. In Genesis 2:2-3 we read, “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Notice "On the seventh day God rested." This day provided the rest of satisfaction because of the completion of the great work of creation.

The First Day, Sunday, commemorated the completion of God's great work of REDEMPTION. Therefore every single Sunday should be an Easter Sunday where you remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

You know, it is inconceivable for us who know and love the Word of God, and are endeavoring to live and make each and every moment count for Christ, to believe people would be so preoccupied with the Easter bunny, new clothes, and the newness of spring that the resurrection of Jesus Christ and Easter Sunday morning in the house of God would totally slip by with not so much as even giving it a thought.

Yet, I believe God is just as perplexed over our relating this event, this CAPSTONE of the Christian faith to one DAY in a year, where we meet together to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Someone said, "The resurrection of Christ is the only historical event that was ordained to be celebrated every first day of every week in an entire year. Fifty-two weeks a year when we assemble together we ought to, at some time in that service, flash through our minds the thought of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead."

Ignatius, one of the disciples of the Apostle John in the first century, said, "Christians are a people who have come into possession of a great new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath day but living in the observance of the Lord's Day, the day on which our life has also sprung up again in Him." My friend, every Sunday ought to be a day we commemorate our new life in Christ.

Here in John 20:1 we find the impact of the resurrection "The first day of the week…" introduces us to a brand new age, one in which every Sunday, we remember His glorious resurrection. Sunday ought to be a day of rest in Christ, and of reflection and worship of Christ in the House of God. To the believer every Sunday ought to be an Easter Sunday in commemoration of the Lord’s resurrection.

Second: The impact of the resurrection is upon “WHAT IT INVOLVED,” the Empty Tomb. Would you notice the last phrase of John 20:1, "…And seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre." Interestingly all the gospel accounts make reference to "the stone," and what happened to this stone. And when you put all these passages together it has tremendous significance, which perhaps we have overlooked.

Jesus was not buried down into the earth as we do with the burial of people today, but He was buried in the side of the earth. Now in order to close up the tomb, in those days they would take a huge stone in the shape of a wheel and roll it in a trough right to the entrance of that grave. Once in place it acted as a seal, because it became practically impossible to remove it from that place.

You have the women, including Mary Magdalene, coming to the tomb very early, even before the daylight. The guards are no longer there, and even the stone that would have been impossible for three women to remove has been removed. Now would you briefly trace with me what is said in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John about this stone?

In Matthew 27:59-60 we read, “And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, (60) And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.” The Greek word for “rolled” is "Kulieo" and it is used by each of the Gospel writers with a slightly different meaning. The word "Kulieo" in this verse simply means to roll.

In Mark 16:1-4 we read, “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. (2) And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. (3) And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? (4) And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.” Please note in verse 4, this was a very great stone. Notice in verse 3 it says the "stone was rolled away." Here the Greek adds a preposition to the word “rolled” "Ana-kulieo." Now the word means to roll up an incline or a slope.

In Luke 24:1-2, we read, “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. (2) And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.” Here the writer uses the word "Apo-Kulieo," which means to roll one object, the stone, away from another object, the grave itself.

In John 20:1, we read, “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.” You will notice the words here read "the stone taken away from the sepulchre."

In Matthew's account it is "Kulieo" which means to roll.

In Mark's account it is "Ana-kulieo," which means to roll up an incline or a slope.

In Luke's account it is "Apo-Kulieo," which means to roll an object a distance away from another object.

In John's gospel, it is "Ereo" which means to pick something up and literally carry it away.

Now if you take what each of these gospel writers said it is basically this, "This great stone was lifted up and transported some distance away up hill." Now since that is true I ask, "Why was that stone rolled that distance from the tomb uphill?" We all know the answer to that question, "It was to let Jesus OUT." My friends, is that the reason why, to let Jesus out? Think about it for a moment, did Jesus need to have that stone rolled away to be let out?

I call your attention to John 20:6-8, “Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, (7) And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. (8) Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.” It appears Jesus literally just walked OUT OF THOSE GRAVE CLOTHES.

I call your attention to John 20:19, “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.” Here, it appears Jesus literally just walked RIGHT ON THROUGH THE WALL.

The newly resurrected body of Jesus was so unique, the barriers of doors and walls did not concern the Lord; He went right through them. May I say to you it did not make any difference whether that stone was there or not; it was totally immaterial.

Perhaps you are saying to yourself if the removal of that stone was not necessary, then why did they lift that stone up a hill a great distance away from the tomb? May I say to you the message we must leave the house of God with is, "It was not to let the Son of God OUT, but rather it was to let the whole-wide-world IN." Peter went in, he saw and he believed. And after Peter, there were others who went in. And I would say to you in this service,

There have been thousands of people for 2000 years who have been streaming into that tomb and finding it empty. For those of us who may not enter into it physically, we can do so spiritually to assure ourselves this is not some fable.

That great stone was rolled away so we may understand there was one who did rise from the dead and is alive, so we may BELIEVE. The angels’ message in Matthew 28:6-7 was "He is not here for He is risen, COME AND SEE the place where the Lord lay. And GO quickly, and TELL His disciples that he is risen from the dead…" And those who have done that find themselves life victors.

This is not some theological, mystical, spiritual fantasy that we drag out of the closet once a year in order to wear nice new Easter outfits and bring ourselves into church to hear about this thing. That is not what Easter is all about. Rather, those who embrace this phenomenon are transformed by the power of God. The resurrected life of Christ enters into them, and they know the power of his resurrection.

Maybe you are in this service and you are sorrowing over the loss of some loved one who has died in Christ. Perhaps there is a void and emptiness down deep inside you. I want you to know there is an event coming that will be as equally powerful as the resurrection of Christ. It will be that day when Jesus comes again and the dead in Christ will rise from the grave. We who are alive will be caught up together to be with the Lord. Yet today the song tells we can have victory in this life.

God sent his Son, they called Him Jesus;

He came to love, heal, and forgive;

He lived and died to buy my pardon,

An EMPTY GRAVE is there to prove my Saviour lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river;

I'll fight life's final war with pain;

And then as death gives way to VICTORY,

I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow;

Because He lives all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives.

You see the stone was rolled away in order that today you may see for yourself and believe that "HE LIVES."

The impact of the resurrection gave us a new day in a new era. It took place upon the "First day of the week" and you and I are here this SUNDAY morning as we are every Sunday morning to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus.

The impact of the resurrection gave us a view of an empty tomb, because that stone was removed for us to see IN and BELEIVE.

Third: The impact of the resurrection is upon “WHO IT AFFECTED.” Would you notice again John 20:1, “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early…” The first person it touched was a woman, who was a great sinner, a demon possessed sinner. But there was a day when Mary Magdalene met the Saviour and her life was transformed. And here, this is the first woman who came to see the empty tomb.

Folks, we are not here just to enjoy the festivities on this day we call Easter Sunday. We are here to understand that our eternal redemption not only rests upon the finished work of Christ at Calvary, but it also rests upon His resurrection. In Romans 4:25 we read, "Who was delivered for our offenses (crucified at Calvary for our sins), and was raised again for our justification."

The Bible is saying Jesus Christ went to the cross of Calvary to keep you from going to hell and was raised from the grave to get you into heaven. It is as simple as that. The word of God says in Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

If you believe that, you are saved. If you have never believed that, then you have to reach out with a heart of faith and say, "God I believe Jesus died and rose again that I might have forgiveness of sins and have eternal life."

Fourth: The impact of the resurrection rests upon THE PROMISES of GOD. Again would you notice John 20:9, “For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.” Repeatedly the scripture gives this promise, “… that he must rise again from the dead.

Jesus said in John 2:19, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will rise it up."

He also said to Martha at the grave of Lazarus in John 11:25-26, "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die…."

Everything depends on the RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ.

It is the CORNERSTONE upon which Christianity rests; undermine it, and the whole business collapses.

It is the KEYSTONE of the arch; knock it out, and all of Christianity falls with a crash.

If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead,

How do I know He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life?

How do I know He that believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved?

How do I know the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin?

How do I know He has gone to prepare a place for me, and that He will come again and receive me unto Himself?

How do I know death has lost its sting and the grave has been swallowed up in victory?

How do I know when He shall appear I shall be like Him?

How do I know "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in me?

How do I know the promises of this Book are true?

I don't know. There is no way to know, if Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead. But thank God, He did rise! They SEALED His tomb, but it could not hold Him. He lay there COLD and DEAD in the grave. All earth had given up hope, but Heaven KNEW better. I think GABRIEL must have said to the celestial choir, "Hold your breath a minute now, for you'll need it." And upon that third day, the breath of God swept through the sleeping clay; and like a flash of light, His glorious Son was on His feet again, while Heaven's angelic choir rose, tier upon tier and row upon row and shouted, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Christ is risen! The Son of God is Alive!" Glory to Jesus, today we can sing:

Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph o'er His foes.

He arose a victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever with His saints to reign.

He arose! He arose! Hallelujah, Christ Arose.

The resurrection completes the GOSPEL which speaks of the DEATH, and the BURIAL, and the RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ.

Dr. A.H. Ackley penned what some have considered the NATIONAL ANTHEM of the RESURRECTION SONGS:

I serve a RISEN Saviour, He's in the world today,

I know that He is LIVING, whatever men may say;

I see His hands of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,

And just the time I need Him, He's always near.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.

Two thousand years ago God took every sin we have ever committed or ever will commit and placed them on Jesus Christ, as we read in Isaiah 53:6, "… the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." When Jesus cried out from the cross, "It is finished!" it simply meant that the full payment for sin had been made. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is now an assurance that God was fully satisfied with the payment Jesus made for our sins. Let me ask you "Is the living resurrected Christ alive in You?"

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If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon “The Impact of the Resurrection” then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior let me know. Please send an e-mail to, pdmikBBM@aol.com and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.

In His Amazing Grace,

http://BibleBaptistMinistry.org/……/MMXII/14/