773 - The Three Hardest Words to Say

March 1, 2009

Sermon #773

The Three Hardest Words to Say

Introduction: If I were to ask you what the three hardest words were for you to say what would you answer?

• I’m sorry? No that’s only two!

• I love you? What do you really mean?

• How about – I don’t know!

I don’t know, I believe they are the hardest words for a minister or a teacher to say. Have you ever heard a politician admit, I don’t know? How about an economist? Could you believe a prophet? Well, there is one in the Old Testament that is asking questions instead of giving answers. Habakkuk!

Habakkuk 1:1 - 4 (NKJV) ¹The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw. ²O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save. ³Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. ⁴Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

What Habakkuk saw:

Perverse judgment

Habakkuk 2:6 - 7 (NKJV) ⁶“Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases What is not his—how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’? ⁷Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty.

ILL: “It’s the economy stupid!” Are we talking about 659 BC or today?

Listen to Habakkuk!

• Men make huge profits while driving their companies into bankruptcy

• We have been encouraged to have big loans, credit cards, mortgages etc. and suddenly your creditors want payment.

• You have lost your retirement funds

• Now your company is cutting back and you may or have lost your job

• You wake up each morning with the spirit of fear

He was angry about it – he didn’t know and wanted to know what God was doing

ILL: Being angry about injustice is not sin! It is part of God’s nature in us.

Psalm 7:11 (NKJV) ¹¹God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day.

Jonah 3:5 - 9 (NKJV) ⁵So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. ⁶Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. ⁷And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. ⁸But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. ⁹Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?

ILL: Winston Churchill said, “A man is about as big as the things that make him angry.”

ILL: In 1807 Wilberforce became angry at Slavery – was he wrong?

Isaiah 58:6 - 8 (NKJV) ⁶“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? ⁷Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? ⁸Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

ILL: It is all right for you to be angry about the right things.

Ephesians 4:26 (NKJV) ²⁶“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath…

What God answered

Habakkuk 1:5 (NKJV) ⁵“Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.

If God told you what He was doing you would not believe it

ILL: I recently taught on the 10 commandments. When I taught on adultery I received a nasty note in the offering. Though, it was a name the person wrote, the name was something profane to call me. I am going to tell you what it was. They called me “Republican.” No, I am not being political, I am however being moral! The problem is not the economy it is a moral problem!

The root of the economic crises is symptomatic of and flows from a deeper fundamental moral crisis.

ILL: Pastor Walter Hoye has been found guilty of unlawful approach under the Access to Reproductive Health Care Facilities Ordinance of Oakland, CA. He has been fined $4000 and a possible jail sentence. His crime? He held up a sign that said, “Jesus loves you and your baby.”

Pastor Hoye “harassed” the center. It is located in the inter-city which is 50 percent black and 40 percent below the poverty line. One hundred abortions are performed per day at $600 per person, or $3 million per year. The state is paying out $52 million per year for abortions. Did you know that the state of California has a $40 billion deficit and that it will be receiving from the “stimulus” package?

Before you accuse me of politics may I tell you that Pastor Walter Hoye is African-American and his arrest is for violating the “right to privacy.” What about the First Amendment of the Constitution of the U.S.? What about Pastor Hoye’s right to freedom of religion and speech?

“Well Pastor that’s just a little incident.” NO! It’s a symptom of a moral disease!

Wait!

Habakkuk 2:2 - 3 (NKJV) ²Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. ³For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.

• Is this the beginning of the tribulation? I do not know!

• When is the rapture coming? I do not know!

• When is Jesus coming?`` I do not know!

• When is the economic crises going to end? I do not know!

What can we do?

ILL: Now here is a question that I do know the answer to.

Praise Him!

Habakkuk 3:17 - 19 (NKJV) ¹⁷Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— ¹⁸Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. ¹⁹The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.

Keep the wonder!

Habakkuk 2:14 (NKJV) ¹⁴For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea.

Habakkuk 2:20 (NKJV) ²⁰“But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”

Habakkuk 3:2 (NKJV) ²O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.

Live by faith!

Habakkuk 2:4 (NKJV) ⁴“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

Conclusion:

It is not an economic problem – it’s a faith problem. When will it end? I do not know! How can I be saved? Ah! That’s a question I can answer – by grace through faith!

771 - The Ring of the Covenant

February 15, 2009

Sermon #771

The Ring of the Covenant

Introduction: In the marriage, ceremony there is always the giving of a ring, or two. “With this ring I thee wed.” Why the ring? What does it mean? In the movie, Fireproof, the couple who were about to dissolve their marriage the ring played an important part. The wife – Catherine Holt – if you remember removed her wedding ring. The husband, Caleb Holt, though injured in a fire would not remove his. The sleazy doctor – Gavin Keller – was pursuing a married woman did not wear his although he was a married man. What does the ring represent?

The promise of restoration

Luke 15:11 - 24 (NKJV) ¹¹Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. ¹²And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. ¹³And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. ¹⁴But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ¹⁵Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, ¹⁹and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ ²⁰“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ²¹And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ²³And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ²⁴for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

ILL: The Ring on his had indicated restoration!

Esther 8:1 - 2 (NKJV) ¹On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. ²So the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther appointed Mordecai over the house of Haman.

Esther 8:7 - 11 (NKJV) ⁷Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “Indeed, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay his hand on the Jews. ⁸You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring no one can revoke.” ⁹So the king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all, to every province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language. ¹⁰And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds. ¹¹By these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions.

ILL: In the book of Esther when King Ahasuerus placed the ring of the finger of Mordecai all of the Jews were restored!

ILL: Sir Walter Scotts ballad The Noble Moringer, The knight returns from the Holy Land to the wedding of his enticed wife, he appears unrecognized at the feast and drops a gold ring into the wedding wine. “A bridal ring of burning gold so costly and so fine; Now listen, gentles to my song, it tells you but the sooth, twas with that very ring of gold he pledged his bridal truth:” Moringer though thought to be dead is instantly restored!

That wedding band means that no matter what changes, no matter what the other does, you pledge by blood covenant to restoration of love.

Promise of second in command

Genesis 41:42 - 44 (NKJV) ⁴²Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

Jesus gave the church authority in his name

Matthew 16:16 - 19 (NKJV) ¹⁶Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 18:18 - 20 (NKJV) ¹⁸“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 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.”

A Husband is to treat his wife as Christ treats His church

Ephesians 5:22 - 33 (NKJV) ²²Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. ²⁴Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

²⁸So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 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.” 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.

ILL: Sovereignper annulum means “By the Ring” The Archbishop of Canterbury puts the Wedding Ring of England on the finger of the ruler symbolizing the covenant union of the people and the ruler – only the death of the ruler breaks the covenant!

From the time of ancient Egypt it was believed that a nerve ran from the fourth finger of the left hand to the heart. A ring on that finger signified a blood covenant that was never to be broken.

ILL: Look at your wedding ring a picture a vein that runs from that ring to your heart. If that ring (covenant) is broken you will bleed to death!

Wife of the covenant

Malachi 2:14 - 16 (NKJV) ¹⁴Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant. ¹⁵But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. ¹⁶“For the Lord God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one’s garment with violence,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously.”

Christ has a covenant with us that He will not break!

Matthew 26:26 - 29 (NKJV) ²⁶And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” ²⁷Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. ²⁹But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

ILL: This is beside the point but do you know where Judas’ ring finger was when the new covenant was pledged?

Luke 22:20 - 21 (NKJV) ²⁰Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. ²¹But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.

The Christian has the better covenant

Hebrews 7:18 - 22 (NKJV) ¹⁸For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, ¹⁹for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. ²⁰And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath ²¹(for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn And will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’”), ²²by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.

ILL: God had an engagement ring of law on one hand, now I am speaking allegorically, but on the other hand Jesus is wearing a wedding ring – of the covenant.

ILL: The Super Bowl team each were given a ring, they alone can wear it. Each Pope is given a ring, when they die it is destroyed. I have a diamond ring, it is the Masters of Divinity, and there is not another one like it on earth. It is the symbol of my wedding to the ministry – when I die it will go to my minister son! To me both the ministry and my marriage is a covenant – 56 six years of marriage (to the same woman) and 48 years in the ministry.

Conclusion: There are a number of couples present who would like to recommit their marriage vows, some have been through the “Fire Proof” seminar program. At this time I am going to give you the opportunity to do so:

Marriage recommitted vows.