PM Study of Daniel #4

Daniel #4
C. Paul Willis

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream II

Daniel 2:27 - 45 (NKJV) ²⁷Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. ²⁸But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: ²⁹As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. ³⁰But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart. ³¹“You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. ³²This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and ^£thighs of bronze, ³³its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of ^£clay. ³⁴You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. ³⁵Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. ³⁶“This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. ³⁷You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; ³⁸and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. ³⁹But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. ⁴¹Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. ⁴²And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. ⁴³As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. ⁴⁴And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. ⁴⁵Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”

I. The Colossal Image v. 31

A. The Image was “great.” It was a colossal, astonishing, gigantic image.

B. The image was “terrible.” Its brightness, the brilliance of the metal and the form, was terrible or frightening.

C. The image was awesomely impressive

D. The entire image represented the “times of the Gentiles”

Luke 21:24 (NKJV) ²⁴And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Daniel 2:36 - 39 (NKJV) ³⁶“This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. ³⁷You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; ³⁸and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. ³⁹But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.

E. Israel had been purposed to be the administrative ruler of all the governments of the world.

Deuteronomy 32:7 - 9 (NKJV) ⁷ “Remember the days of old, Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; Your elders, and they will tell you: ⁸ When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel. ⁹ For the Lord’S portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance.

F. God purposed that His Son would rule from Jerusalem

Psalms 2:1 - 12 (NKJV) ¹ Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? ² The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ³ “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.” ⁴ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. ⁵ Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: ⁶ “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” ⁷ “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. ⁹ You shall ^£break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’” ¹⁰ Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. ¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling. ^{12 £}Kiss the Son, lest ^£He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Israel failed and God gave the kingdom over to the Gentiles!

II. Nebuchadnezzar was the Golden head of the Gentile Kingdoms

The Babylonia Kingdom lasted from 605 to 536BC

Daniel 4:29 - 30 (NKJV) ²⁹At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. ³⁰The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

What Nebuchadnezzar did not recognize was that his city of gold was only a golden schoolhouse in which God’s captive people were taught lessons they have never forgotten – it was a prison of gold in which God chastened His people and when God’s holy purpose had been accomplished Babylon passed away!

III. Next came the two-armed silver kingdom of the Medes and Persians

The Medo-Persian Kingdom lasted from 536/539 to 330BC (Remember that Daniel saw it before it happened)

Silver was the name for the method of taxation invented by the Mede/Persians

Daniel 11:1 - 2 (NKJV) ¹“Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him.) ²And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.

IV. The Brass Kingdom was Greece

The Geek Kingdom lasted from 330BC through Alexander and the Ptolemies through the Maccabees and Hasmoeans Jewish revolt in 167 BC to 63BC.

The Greek soldier wore a helmet of brass, a breastplate of brass, a shield of brass and a sword of brass.

V. The Iron Legions of Rome

The Roman Empire lasted from 63BC until the fall of the Eastern Empire in 1453AD when Constantinople fell to the Ottomans (Islamic) and the Western Empire has continued through Europe to this present day.

VI. Daniel saw a declension in the nature of western word history.

A. Deterioration in quality (from Gold to Iron & Clay)

B. Deterioration in cohesion (from Solid Gold to Iron & Clay that will not stick together

C. Deterioration in beauty (Gold is certainly more beautiful than Iron & Clay)

D. Deterioration in strength (Gold to Clay)

E. Different forms of Government

• Babylon ruled by an absolute monarch (dictator)
• Medo-Person ruled by a king but worked through princes and absolute law (Esther 1:19)
• Greece ruled by king and army
• Rome ruled by republic and law

VI. Feet of Iron and “miry clay”

A. Could refer to government structure – if so “Iron” would represent government of dictatorship and “clay” mankind or democracy and the two will not fit together (the area of the middle east today)

B. Could refer to culture – if so “iron” would represent the western culture, Europe and U.S., “clay” could be “sticky sand” or eastern culture i.e. Islam

C. Could refer to a ten nation European government i.e. European Federation & a ten nation Islamic government, i.e. OPEC. The “sticky sand” could be desert and oil!

Conclusion: The “Stone not made with hands” cannot be the church it grows but the “stone” falls – it has to be the second coming!

Christ and Divorce

January 28, 2007
Sermon #664

Christ and Divorce

Introduction: In the recent requests for teaching ministries I was very surprised as to how many mentioned the subject of divorce. I should not have been since we have so many single, divorced members but what I did not recognize is how many married members have possibly been through a divorce earlier in their lives. According to statistics from the Barna Research group and the U.S. Census

11% of the American population is currently divorced
25% of American adults had at least one divorce during their lifetime
34% of Non-Denominational church people have had a divorce
34% of people between the ages of 33-52years have had a divorce
37% of people between the ages of 53-72years have had a divorce
18% of Seniors (above 72years) have had a divorce

There were 957,200 legal divorces in America in the year 2000

43% of first marriages end within 15years (10% in the fist 5 years)
62% of marriages which started with cohabitation (fornication) divorce within 5 years
65% of second marriages end in divorce
75% of people going through divorce leave the church!

1. Embarrassment – each side has told all their friends to get sympathy and agreement
2. Legal – they have put a restraining order on each other
3. Counseling – the Pastor knows
4. The Church institutions judgments on divorce

I. The Seeds for divorce are sown before the wedding

A. Fornication

2 Corinthians 12:19 - 21 (NKJV) 19Again,do you think that we excuse ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ. But we do all things, beloved, for your edification. 20For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults; 21lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.

ILL: Remember the statistics – 62% of marriages which start with cohabitation divorce within 5 years. It is not the marriage that God saves it is the individual.

Jeremiah 8:5 - 12 (NKJV) 5 Why has this people slidden back, Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, They refuse to return. 6 I listened and heard, But they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, As the horse rushes into the battle. 7 “Even the stork in the heavens Knows her appointed times; And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow Observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the LORD. 8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’? Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood. 9 The wise men are ashamed, They are dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD; So what wisdom do they have? 10 Therefore I will give their wives to others, And their fields to those who will inherit them; Because from the least even to the greatest Everyone is given to covetousness; From the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely. 11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace. 12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed, Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; In the time of their punishment They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.

Let’s look at the scripture as individuals not as the nation of Israel:

They did what they wanted to do regardless of the consequences
The rejected God’s word and His wisdom
They were not ashamed
They did not know how to blush ( be embarrassed in the sight of God)

What is God going to do?

* Take their wives (and he did not even give them a divorce paper) and give them to someone else as a wife!
* Take their prosperity and give it to someone else – believe me no one gains financially in a divorce unless it is the lawyer!

B. Unequally yoked

2 Corinthians 6:14 - 16 (NKJV) 14Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”

C. What about if one in the marriage is a Christian and the other is not?

1 Corinthians 7:8 - 16 (NKJV) 8But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 10Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. 12But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 16For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

If the non-Christian wants out of the marriage – let them go!

ILL: There is a difference between a contract of marriage and a covenant of marriage. God recognized the contract

II. Adultery is not a cause but a symptom

Matthew 5:31 - 32 (NKJV) 31“Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

A. God divorced Israel yet He has taken her back

Jeremiah 3:6 - 20 (NKJV) 6The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. 7And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. 9So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. 10And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the LORD. 11Then the LORD said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not remain angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God, And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the LORD. 14“Return, O backsliding children,” says the LORD; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. 15And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16“Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the LORD, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore. 17“At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. 18“In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers. 19“But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children And give you a pleasant land, A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’ “And I said: ‘You shall call Me, “My Father,” And not turn away from Me.’ 20 Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, So have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the LORD.

ILL: I counseled with a couple that the wife had caught her husband in the act of adultery, yet they were reconciled and lived another 20 years together as happily married people!

B. Where did Jesus tell the woman caught in adultery to go?

John 8:1 - 11 (NKJV) 1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. 7So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

“GO!” She could not go out and get a job – not in Jerusalem in 33AD!
“GO!” She could not go back to her lover – that would be sin!
“GO!” She could not go sell herself on the street!
“GO!” She had to “go” back to her husband!

“After the message on Sex and Self Control last week I said do not go and confess to you mate. I was questioned about that statement after the service. I told the person, “To put that on your mate to appease your conscience was not a very loving thing to do!”

C. If adultery were unpardonable?

Matthew 5:27 - 29 (NKJV) 27“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

ILL: If what Jesus said is true – everyone in this room and everyone watching this program should be stoned to death – if it were grounds!

ILL: I have a preacher friend. His wife had an affair with a deacon of his church. The deacon left his wife and the preacher’s wife left him. - The church throws the preacher out and kept the deacon and his new wife!

ILL: I know pastor’s who have been blackmailed by their wife for years, “I’ll leave you she tells him and if I do the church will take you out of the ministry.”

Conclusion: What should I do after a divorce?

* Don’t leave the church – you need it and we need you! (The church does not forbid people who once were unmarried but lived in sex sin, or had other problems from being members or having ministry – why should we continue to judge people because they are divorced?)

* Break the spiritual soul-ties.

James 1:1 - 8 (NKJV) 1James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. 2My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

* When you have a spiritual soul-tie (formed by sex, vows, words, tokens) you have a divided heart and it can hinder the love and affection that is being given because you are still tied to that person or event in the past. It can stop you from giving love because you only have part of a heart to give from. You can only give which you have to give!

* The Bible says:

Rev 12:11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

You can have soul-ties from sex, rape, vows, broken marriages – Pray!

“Lord Jesus I ask you to forgive my sin and my relationship (now name it). I apply the blood you shed for me over that situation and relationship. I release my heart and spirit from any and all those soul -ties I renounce any vows I made and I make a new vow that you are my Spouse and you have 100% of my heart.”

When you leave the Cathedral – go home and sell, break, burn, or bury any thing that has a soul-tie attached to it. (Ring – piece of jewelry – document) – Something that reminds you of the soul-tie – that has an emotional attachment - get it out of your life!

Sex and Self Control

January 28, 2007
Sermon # 663

Sex and Self Control

Colossians 3:1 - 7 (NKJV) 1If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

Introduction: The Christian is the Bride of Christ and Jesus is the Bridegroom.

John 3:27 - 31 (NKJV) 27John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30He must increase, but I must decrease. 31He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

ILL: Fornication is Spiritual Idolatry and contains uncleanness, passion evil desire and covetousness. Fornication is sex outside of marriage. I have to be realistic. Young people are going to experiment with sex; they always have and they always will. Up to a point such experimentation does no harm. It is only when it passes the point of no return – the point where complete sex relations become inevitable or actual where there is a cause for alarm.

I. Arguments against pre-marital sex

· The notion that sex is just another appetite is hopelessly naïve. Sex is interpersonal-it directly affects another person and it can have consequences that reach far beyond the two people involved.

· Sex has a non-physical side. Sex out side of marriage is like buying a car with no motor. When you ignore this you are short-changing your-self

· Extramarital sex is a treat to society as a whole. (don’t you understand that every child has a right to life and the right to loving responsible parents?)

· Extramarital sex draws with it all other stimulus – fear, anxiety, lust, covetousness – with it.

· People who have had premarital sex are twice as likely to be unfaithful in marriage. Even if you marry each other you will have a problem with trust.

· Sex is a stimulus and you will look for more – it will lead to alcohol abuse, drug addiction and more sex.

· It cannot be love because love always includes responsibility – you cannot have love without the other.

ILL: Let me read you a quote from Josh McDowell’s book Right from Wrong

“…Our youth are working from a faulty concept of love. For example, 46% of our youth say that they will be more likely to have sex outside of marriage if they are in love with the other person. In fact 77% of our youth who have already had sexual intercourse – and 78% or those who regard premarital sex as morally acceptable – say that love would make them more likely to have sex

In the minds of our young people love is definitely the greatest determining factor in the decision to engage in sex. It is a greater determinant than whether they intend to marry the person. It is a greater determinant than if they could be sure a pregnancy would not result. It is a greater determinant than whether they could be sure a parent wouldn’t find out, greater even than if they felt their parents wouldn’t object to them having sex.

In the minds of our youth, love makes sex right. They believe that true love makes sex perfectly moral-even beautiful. I happen to believe that they are right – love is the biblical standard for sex. The problem,…is our youth’s counterfeit standard of love – one that permits sex without boundaries, outside God’s definition of love.

ILL: The young women looked at me and with tears in her eyes told me, “Pastor I was 12 years old when I first had sex. By the time I was 14 I had been through several ‘boy friends’ Now I’m 18 years old and I feel like I’m a warn out prostitute.”

24% of Junior High Students who attended church regularly have engaged in pre-marital sex.

ILL: I asked the Cathedral for teaching requests. One answered, “How to break the bondage of homosexual lifestyles. My first answer is “Don’t experiment with homosexuality or allow anyone to experiment on you! You become one in the spirit with anyone you have sex with!

Ephesians 5:30 - 31 (NKJV) 30For we are members of His body,£ of His flesh and of His bones. 31“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Now if a man and his wife become one through sexual union – you become one with every person’s spirit you are sexually connected with! If that person is homosexual that’s how you get possessed.

Once possessed with that spirit they have to want to be set free and it takes a lot of fasting and prayer!

Sex binds you spiritually with the other person

1 Corinthians 6:15 - 20 (NKJV) 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”£ 17But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your £body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

ILL: Let me give you a definition for a harlot! A harlot is anyone who sells sex for a price – and that may not be money!

II. Adultery

Galatians 5:16 - 21 (NKJV) 16I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: £adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21envy, £murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Did you notice that Paul listed adultery and fornication first – either will produce uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry sorcery hatred contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, and revelries.

Extramarital sex is a symptom of:

* lack of importance – lack of success, lack of closeness, lack of fulfillment. Unhappy people try to use sex as a narcotic.

* Sex inside of marriage can be used to – (Just as immoral as extramarital sex)
a. gratify personal desire,
b. as a weapon,
c. as a punishment

* Extramarital sex can never be complete because sex is meant to produce

* Extramarital sex always weakens martial sex.

ILL: Now let me repeat my self “a harlot is anyone who sells themselves for a price- the price may be importance, success, fulfillment, addiction – but it’s still harlotry!

III. Self Control

A. Clean your life up by giving it to Christ

2 Corinthians 5:16 - 19 (NKJV) 16Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

B. Acknowledge the power of sex

Countless people have gotten into problems assuming they can handle sex – it’s like nitroglycerin – it can explode before you know it!

C. Look ahead - what are the long time disadvantages?

D. Be honest with yourself – examine your motives

E. Make a commitment – in advance

F. Honor the Word of God and it’s Moral Codes

Acts 15:29 (NKJV) 29that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.

1 Corinthians 6:18 (NKJV) 18Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

1 Corinthians 10:8 (NKJV) 8Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell;

Ephesians 5:3 (NKJV) 3But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;

Colossians 3:5 (NKJV) 5Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 - 6 (NKJV) 3For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.

Conclusion:

Sexual restraint does not mean deprivation - it means happiness in depth

John 15:11 - 17 (NKJV) 11“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 17These things I command you, that you love one another.

(A word to married couples)

Ephesians 4:26 - 27 (NKJV) 26“Be angry, and do not sin”:do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27nor give place to the devil.

Remember any feelings you carry into the sexual act become part of it. Don’t have an intimate relationship while you are angry or in disagreement!

PM Study of Daniel #3

Daniel #3
C. Paul Willis
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream 1

Daniel 2:1 - 23 (NKJV) 1Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. 2Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.” 4Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in £Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” 5The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. 6However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.” 7They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.” 8The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: 9if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.” 10The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 11It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” 12For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; 15he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. 16So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. 17Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. 21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. 22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. 23 “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”

1. The Second Year of King Nebuchadnezzar

605 BC Babylonian victory at Carchemish

September 7, 605BC Nebuchadnezzar make king after death of father – Daniel taken captive, 1st year of Daniels training.

March/April 604BC 1st year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign 2nd year of Daniel’s training.

March/April 603BC 2nd year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign 3rd year of Daniel’s training – Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

2. The Chaldeans

The Chaldeans were the spokesmen for the “wise men” They were from Southern Babylonia and had conquered the Assyrians for Nabopolassar (father of Nebuchadnezzar)

· The Chaldeans used the Syriac language which is closely connected to Hebrew as Aramaic. They may have been trying to hide their words from the other “wise men” and Daniel but Daniel would have learned Aramaic and Hebrew before he was taken.

· Daniel writes in Aramaic starting with the second chapter to the 7th Chapter because the reference is to Gentiles. He probably did not use Hebrew because it would be a holy language applying only to the Jews. (See Organization chart)

4-6. The lost dream

Nebuchadnezzar may not have forgotten the dream but only decreed it – the Chaldeans are in a problem. If they tell the king the wrong dream – and he knew the real one?
17-18 Daniel and his companions pray for wisdom

The Chaldeans worshiped the starry heavens – horoscopes

Daniel worshiped the God of the heavens

Genesis 24:5 - 9 (NKJV) 5And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. 7The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your £descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” 9So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

Ezra 1:2 - 5 (NKJV) 2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. 3Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. 4And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem. 5Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 6:8 - 10 (NKJV) 8 Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. 9And whatever they need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail, 10that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

Ezra 7:12 (NKJV) 12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Perfect peace, and so forth.

Ezra 7:21 - 23 (NKJV) 21 And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently, 22up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit. 23Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

Nehemiah 1:5 - 6 (NKJV) 5And I said: “I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love £You and observe £Your commandments, 6please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.

Psalms 136:26 (NKJV) 26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.

Daniel admitted that he did not have the answer but said in faith that God did!

He called the others in order to get a prayer of agreement!

Matthew 18:19 - 20 (NKJV) 19“Again£ I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

3. The Everlasting Mercies of God toward His People

Jerusalem is in ruins

The sacred vessels are now in the possession of a heathen king

The glory has departed from the Cherubim

God has ever given the greatest manifestations of His mind to the suffering

God brings to nothing the wisdom of the world

19-23 Daniel’s Prayer answered

Daniel 2:20 - 23 (NKJV) 20Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. 21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. 22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. 23 “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”

God knows all things

God is in charge of all time – days & years

God puts people in their office

God will give wisdom

James 1:2 - 8 (NKJV) 2My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

God can reveal the secret and hidden things

God knows the evil and the good

4. God saves the lost for the sake of the righteous

24-28 Daniel is in charge and he shows mercy to the “wise men”

Daniel 2:24 - 30 (NKJV) 24Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.” 25Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the £captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?” 27Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. 28But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: 29As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. 30But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.

Do not destroy the wise men

The wise men could never have given the answer

God has declared – what would occur from Babylon to the “Latter Days” (term for the second coming of Jesus Christ).

Whatever you do not respect you loose!

January 21, 2007
Sermon # 662
Whatever you do not respect you loose!

Genesis 31:10 - 42 (NKJV) 10"And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. 11Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’" 14Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, "Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? 15Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. 16For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it." 17Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. 19Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s. 20And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. 21So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead. 22And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. 23Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. 24But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, "Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad." 25So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead. 26And Laban said to Jacob: "What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? 27Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? 28And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing. 29It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ 30And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?" 31Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, "Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ 32With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you." For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. 33And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. 34Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them. 35And she said to her father, "Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me." And he searched but did not find the household idols. 36Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: "What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? 37Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! 38These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. 39That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. 41Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. 42Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night." 43And Laban answered and said to Jacob, "These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? 44Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me." 45So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46Then Jacob said to his brethren, "Gather stones." And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. 47Laban called it £Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it £Galeed. 48And Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me this day." Therefore its name was called Galeed, 49also Mizpah,£ because he said, "May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. 50If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!" 51Then Laban said to Jacob, "Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. 52This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. 53The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us." And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. 54Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. 55And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

ILL: Let me break this story down for you.

Jacob went to his uncle and told him " I am in love with your daughter Rachel and I want her for my wife. Labon answered, "work for me for 7 years and you can have her" – so that’s what Jacob did.

Labon had no respect for his word, Jacob, or Rachel so he tricked him and gave him ugly Leah insead.
When Jacob protested Labon said, "work for me 7 more years and I will give you Rachel. He also promised Jacob that he could have all of the speckled and spotted animals.

When Jacob married Rachel, Labon had no respect for his word and would not let Jacob go free.
All of Labon’s possessions were contained within the boundaries of his Idols. (teraphim) Teraphim were markers that were suppose to protect the property within the borders and Rachel took them!

Now for the point of the story – Labon lost his property- his daughters – and his grandchildren because he did not respect them and he had to put up a marker to show his boundary and therefore his respect for Jacob!
What or Who you will not respect you will loose! Respect is showing honor, nourishing, and cherishing!

In Marriage

Adultery is at its heart lack of respect and honor for your mate

Matthew 19:3 - 9 (NKJV) 3The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" 4And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who £made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’£ 5and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?£ 6So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." 7They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" 8He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for £sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

Having a sexual relationship with another person outside of your marriage is adultery.

Marrying a known adulterer is adultery.

ILL: If they ran out and had sexual relationship with another man or woman other than their husband or wife – they will with you!

ILL: Let me give you a harder one:

Matthew 5:27 - 28 (NKJV) 27"You have heard that it was said £to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

The person into pornography is an adulterer!

An unbeliever who wants to leave the Christian

1 Corinthians 7:10 - 16 (NKJV) 10Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. 12But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 16For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

If your mate will not respect your relationship to Christ they are not honoring you – let them go! – What they will not honor they loose!

I have no Biblical basis but I also believe that if a spouse physically abuses you – they are not honoring you and should loose you!

How to keep a marriage – Honor!

ILL: If you did not get or hear last weeks message – get it!

Ephesians 5:32 - 33 (NKJV) 32This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Paul has already written:

Ephesians 5:20 - 21 (NKJV) 20giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another in the fear of God.

The word "submitting" has more to do with honor than obedience – you can only honor what you respect. Wives only receive honor by what the husband completes them for or does for them. Husbands only receive honor by what the wife does with them.

The Children

Ephesians 6:1 - 8 (NKJV) 1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise: 3"that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth."£ 4And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. 5Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Children have to be taught how to honor

Deuteronomy 4:9 - 10 (NKJV) 9Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, 10especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’

God said "teach them…that they may learn to fear."

Fear is the great motivation for discipline

Teach – all the time and everywhere!

Deuteronomy 6:3 - 9 (NKJV) 3Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’£ 4"Hear, O Israel: £The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Discipline which does not provoke your children to wrath

Proverbs 13:24 (NKJV) 24 He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

ILL: The little boy had been misbehaving in Church "Pray" he cried out as his father drug him out to the restroom.
ILL: I believe that the Dr. Spock generation has been the destruction of America. You cannot reason out dishonor and rebellion.

Proverbs 10:13 (NKJV) 13 Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding, But a rod is for the back (side) of him who is devoid of understanding.

ILL: I was about 14 years old when I received the phonograph for Christmas. "Paul" my father told me, "this is a very nice and very expensive piece of equipment. The instructions say that records should never be left standing on the spindle. It has springs to protect the machine and records, it has a diamond needle. It should never have more than 12 records at a time and they should be put up when you are finished listening. The first time he found the equipment with a full stack of records when it was not being used he warned me. The second time – by – by phonograph! I never saw it again! But I learned a lesson. I have the oil changed in the car when it supposed to be changed. I have a boat. The motor is winterized, the equipment oiled, the boat stored during the cold months when I’m not using it. – The lesson I learned from loosing the phonograph - What you do not appreciate – you loose!

If that child abuses the car or drives it in an illegal manor – the driver’s privilege is gone! – You may be saving the child’s life!

If a child takes something that does not belong to (him or her) they return it, apologize, and then do some service to pay the price of the object!

I used one word of profanity in front of my father –the rod of correction was applied to my rear so that my mouth would learn never to say that word again!

When my son, Dennis, was arrested for speeding, passing another car on a bridge, and having drugs in a car I told the police – "keep him in jail so that he gets to understand what it feels like!"

My father just died September, one year ago at 93, when he said something I answered, "yes sir!" – to my Mother I said, "yes maim!" I never addressed my father or mother by their first name – there is no respect in familiarity. My children nor my grandchildren do not call me by my first name.

Leviticus 19:32 (NKJV) 32‘You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.

What God is saying is, "if you do not learn discipline and respect I will see that circumstances teach them to you!’

Deuteronomy 5:16 (NKJV) 16 ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

ILL: Put that in the negative, "If you do not honor father and mother your days will not be long and it will not be well with you!"

What do I do with my teen-ager?

You have to make the discipline match the offense – but mean what you say and say what you mean!

Conclusion:

It’s all about honor – If you love you provide and protect and respect. That’s what submission is – and if you do not respect something or someone – you loose!