Taking the name of the Lord in Vain

Biblical Violations Series:

Deuteronomy 5:11

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain."

I. Swearing and cursing:

The first way of taking the Lord's name in vain that we will discuss is the habit that we develop of swearing and cursing while using the name of Jesus or God or Lord.
This is one that I had a lot of trouble with in my early Chrstian walk. It was not something that I did intentionally, but from time to time, I would get angry or scarred and use words that I did not mean to say. If I had heard my children say these words I would have sternly reprimended them. I am thankful that I am not the potty-mouth that I once was. I could do better and I am getting better as I get closer to Jesus.
One thing that I have often marvelled at is the thought that I have frequently listened to people ask God to curse their children, pets, their job, their house, and even their spouse and then wonder why thier world is in such a mess.
My dad had a problem with this, but when he caught my sisters and my cousin in the barn trying to find out who could cuss the most, he let them know that he did not approve. He found a board with a nail in it, a hay rope, and he took off his belt. He called the three of them over to him and told them to select the tool he would use to spank them. My oldest sister, Neen, choset the board with a nail in it because she knew he could never use that on them. She was right.
Even though the three little cussers didn't get a spanking they learned not to cuss. It even stopped my cousin Abe till he was in high school. Even then he never cussed around my parrents.
Swearing, or using God's name, or Jesus name to curse is a horrible habit to get into. I want you to know that God can deliver you out of that habit and every dark sin that can darken our souls.
It is an evil thing to swear and curse and have a foolish and foul mouth.
However, I want you to know that is not the only way we take God's name in vain and perhaps it is not even the worst way that we take His name in vain.

II. Claiming to belong to the family of God but not living like it:

Proverbs 30:7-9
"Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me niether poverty nor riches;
feed me with food convenient for me:
Lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor,
and steal, and take the name of my God in vain."

1. I think God is very grieved when people comet to salvation and then fall back into their old ways.
2. I think God is grieved when go to church whenever the doors are open and attend every church pot-luck then live the rest of the week as if He did'nt exist.
3. I think God is grieved by people who claim a relationship with His one and only Son, the "Living Word" and seldom if ever read thier Bibles.
4. I think God is greived when people refer to themselves as the Children of God and then live like children of the devil.
5. I think God is grieved when the people of God know what is good to do, are capable of doing it and don't.
6. I think God is grieved when we refuseto trust Him to fill in where we are lacking.
7. I think God is grieved when His people refuse to grow spiritually or numerically.

All this is taking God's name in vain. Having it count for nothing is taking His name in vain.

No Other Gods

Series: Biblical violations

Deuteronomy 5:6-10

I. The Lord brought the Children of Isreal out of Egypt.

1. Egypt is synonymous with sin
There are two actual palces that we can find on anchient maps that the Bible uses to relate to sinfulness. One is the nation and city of Babylon and the other is the nation of Egypt. When God says, "I brought you out of Egypt", He is relating to a time and a place where the people of Israel were degrated to slavery.
We are also degrated to slavery when we are trapped in sin.
Just as the Slavery in Egypt was destructive to the Children of Israel the slavery of sin destroys the soul of all who are trapped in it.

2. What has the Lord brought you out of?
Where were you when the Lord delivered you?
Have you ever been delivered?
To be delivered from sin you need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Recieve Him as your Lord and Savior.
Develop a relationship with Him through prayer, studying God's Word, and fellowship with
other believers.
Confess Him to others.

II. Have no other gods before Me.

The gods that the Isrealites might have substituted, replaced with, or included in thier worship might have been: Amen Ra, Baal, Ashtoreth, Dagon, or many others.
Today the gods that we have on hand or available for idol worship are Buda, Allah, Angels, the Sun, and a plethora of others.

I want to say something that might very possibly get misquoted when you tell others what pastor Al said, so listen real close to what I have to say. God is not so concerned with the heathen that worships another god as He is with the person who claims to be a believer of the true God, the maker of heaven and earth, the one who sent His one and only Son to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world. If you have been saved, delivered from sin and claim allegiance to Christ, if you call yourself CHristian this law applies to you just as much as it applied to the Isrealites that were led out of Egypt and through the wilderness by a cloud by day and a pillar of fie by night.

Now here is another surprise; If you are a Christian, you can avoid worshipping all the other gods that I previously mentioned and still violate this commandment.

As a nation we have become more involved in entertainment than in church attendance.
We have been more concerned with natural resources than our relationship with God and fellow believers.
We watch, listen, and read more about the news and weather than we ingest of the Bible, God's Holy Word.
We have come to rely more on money and power than on our faith in God.

Ask yourself these questions:
1. Is entertainment more important to you than church attendance, Bible study, or prayer?
2. Does family ever keep you from serving God and attending church?
3. Does your work ever get in the way of you sharing your faith?
4. Does anything ever keep you from or get in the way of your fellowshipping and worshipping in the body of Christ?

You might say, "Well, pastor, you just don't understand my situation!"
That might be true, I don't understand or know everything that there is about everyone, but I'm not the one that you need to convince. You need to address your situation to GodHimself and then see what He has to say about it! You'll find His response in His Word the Bible!

What Is Our Heritage?

What Is Our Heritage? Psalm 16

Read Psalm 16

Our heritage as a nation:

1. Our forefathers came here to escape religious persecution as well as indiscriminate taxes.
Puritans came here because they were continually persecuted wherever they resided in Europe.
The Church of England insisted that all under English rule worship in their settings only.
Where the Catholic Church was dominant there was persecution of anyone that deveated from their teachings.

2. Our forefathers came here to seek out a new life and future.
Georgia was largely settled by those who could not pay the excesive tax that was leveled on them by King George III. Most of the colonists and adventurers who came here form Europe had been restricted by either law or social stature and were looking to use and generate new ideas of how to generate wealth and change in economy of society as well as the church.

3. Our forefathers came here to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Of the 55 signers of the Decleration of Independence were deeply committed Christians. The others were convinced that the Bible was divine truth and believed in the God of its Scriptures as well as His personal intervention in the lives of His creation.
Schools were originally set up by churches for the teaching of the Bible.
Benjamin Harris' "New England Primer" was used for 210 years (until 1900). It consisted of a rhyming alphabet introduced by the reading of Scripture and was used to teach reading and pronounciation.
Benjamin Rush warned that America ever removed the Bible from classrooms, all our time would be spent in the fighting of crime.
In 1781 Congress ruled that a new English edition of the Bible be printed and distributed and used in schools.
John Adams, our second president served as the first leader of the American Bible Society.
This information is assembled with other imposing facts on www.earstohear.net/Heritage/didyouknow.html .

Our heritage as followers of Jesus Christ:

1. We were created by God.
Genesis 1 and 2 tell how God created all the universe and then capped the end of His creating by making mankind in His image. He put us in charge of His creation and gave us dominion over it.
John 1:1-5 gives us the understanding that Jesus is God the Creator and that all hings were made by Him.

2. We are set apart by God.
Genesis 1:26-29 tells that we alone are made in the image of God.
Ephesians 2:10 says that we were created for the purpose of doing good works.
Revelation 4:11 relates to us that all creation was to give pleasure to God.

3. We have salvation through Jesus Christ, who is both god and Lord.
Genesis 6:5-8 makes it clear that after the fall into original sin in the garden of Eden by Adam, mankind freefalled to an exteremely low moral state. Now He wanted to destroy it all. However, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."
Isaiah 45:21-25 lets us understand that, from the very beginning, God wanted to communicate with us and save us from our distress of our sin-stained situation.
Romans 14:11 "Nothing is unclean of itself." However, when we get involved in all things beautiful we can really make a mess of it and corrupt the simplest of what God intended to be good.
Philippians 2:10-11 The only way out of this mess is through Jesus Christ.

"That at the name of Jesus evry knee should bow, everything in heaven and earth, and
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

How about you? Is your knee bowing and are you confessing with your tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord? Your Lord?

7 Things that Men Need

2Timothy 2:2

While traveling to visit our family, about a month ago, my wife and I tuned into a book revue session. The book was centered on the reasons that many churches lack a balance of male and female attendance. The author had focused his attention on the reasons that men don't like to go to church.
Then a couple of weeks I opened up The "Pastor's Weekly Breifing" and H. B. London was discussing the same thing. He cited 2 Timothy 2:2 and gave these seven needs that men need to have filled to be properly assimilated to the congregation of any church.

1. A safe place
Men need to understand that what they do or say will not be held against them or talked about with the outside world.

2. A clear compelling vision of biblical manhood
Many biblical themes are available to be presented to emphisise the proper ways that men should behave when facing the challenges of life. These need to be used frequently in ministering to men.

3. Time with other men
Men need to spend quality time with other men to develop solid relationships. Men develop relationships by praying, working, playing, studying, eating, and traveling together. This list could go on for some time but it will always involve doing something because men are defined and define themselves by what they do.

4. Practical "how to's"
Men will often skip the assembly manual, but when all else fails to work they need to look at why this isn't working. They do benefit from a list of steps to take in structuring life acttions like prayer, developing and maintaining relationships, avoiding sin, and the list goes on.

5. Male cheerleaders
Men do like the women in their lives to encourage them to do well in sports, business, and work. However, there is something even more assuring in the confirmation by another man, be it fater, son, relative, freind or co-worker. When my dad gave me his approval in a task completed I felt as high as a kite. When the other guys on the team would give me high-fives for a good play I made it was like my feet would never touch the ground.

6. Sacred moments
I don't agree with those who say, "Men don't have the deep feelings that women have." Men do have deep emotions, but they tend to feel the need to disguise and hide there emotions from those who might use these 'tender times' against them. The men I know who feel secure where they worship openly express their emotions in prayer, song, and discussion. However, if we are going to see men worship and experience 'Sacred moments' we will need to purposely present the opportunity to them by giving them biblical examples and personal roll-models.

7. A posetive relationship with Jesus Christ
You can fill in all the above, but if this is lacking the rest is in vain. Without A posetive personal relationship with Jesus Christ anyone can, invalidly, feel safe. He can cite every biblical passage that desribes godly manhood. He can spend 'time with the boys.' He can file list after list of 'how tos' and even follow them to the letter. He can have all the guys on the team and in the business give him high-fives and sing songs about his various accomplishments. He can have meaningful moment after meaningful moment and call them sacred, but if he doesn't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ he is still wandering down the road to hell. He will misdefine and misinterpret everything that takes place and he will still be lost.
Every man, woman, and child needs Jesus.

Adapted from "Pastors Weekly Breifing"