 Daniel 1:5 The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service. There is no such thing as neutrality. Eating and Drinking are not a neutral things. King Nebuchadnezzar knew that food was not a neutral thing. His ploy was to give lavishly to his new conquered people so that they would be enticed to leave behind their own identity and instead identify wholly with the Babylonians. King Nebuchadnezzar gave of his food and drink portion. A king of a great nation gets a large provision of food. 1 Kings 4: 22-23 describe King Solomon’s daily portion as thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl. That is a ton of food. He would use it to wine and dine other national leaders, local magistrates, and even his enemies. The White House has 5 full time chefs and a host of other staff who prepare meals daily and can serve up to 140 people dinner and 1000 people with hors d’oeuvres. The Whitehouse has its own homebrew of beer and four to six table wines with every meal. One can only imagine how much food the King of Babylon would have prepared for his courts each day. This was an issue of national pride. You can't have your King and his court skating by on crumbs. Nebudchazzer ordered that these young men would be given from his portion to be intoxicated with all the delicacies that could be affored to them. Then of course they would forget their own nation. John Calvin wrote in his commentary: "For we know that wherever there is any cunning in the world, it reigns especially in kings palaces! So Nebuchadnezzar, when he perceived he was dealing with an obstinate people, (and we know the Jews to have been of a hard and unsubdued spirit,) wished to acquire servants spontaneously obedient, and thus endeavored to soften them with luxuries. This was the reason why he provided for them an allotment of his own meat and drink;” Even though they were but captives forced into slavery, they would be given meat and drink to cause them to forget their bonds. The King was not giving to them food from his portion out of the goodness of his heart. No, it was so that they would see themselves as Chaldeans rather than Jews and then they would begin to love their chains. Eating and drinking were not neutral and are still not today. Now, we are not under the ceremonial law anymore in the New Covenant. The laws forbidding shellfish and pork have found their completion with the coming of Christ. They were intended for the people in the Old Covenant to remind them of their need to be separate unto the Lord. This was to mark them out. It was also to remind them of how even the smallest sin makes them unclean. Jesus Christ explained that it is not what goes in that makes one unclean but what comes out. With the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the New Covenant, the gospel goes forth to all nations. The dietary restrictions that marked off the nation of Israel from the other nations has been removed because now the covenant has expanded to all nations. This does not mean, however, that eating and drinking are now neutral. And when I say this, I am not saying that there is an official diet of Sovereign King Church. There is no commandment for Christians to eat non-gmo organic free-range vegan gluten-free essential-oiled kale chips no matter how many mommy blogs are out there say otherwise. You can eat Doritos in a Christian manner and you can eat the healthiest meal on the planet in an ungodly manner. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. The manner we eat, the purposes for why we eat and drink all matter. Now listen, I am not putting down healthy eating. A Christian should care for their body and treat it well. There are all kinds of healthy foods and diets that a Christian may partake in and it may be wise do so. People make idols out of food in many different ways. You don’t have to be insanely obese for you to be eating and drinking to the glory of an idol. If the reason you must have all the organic healthy stuff is for any reason other than to prepare your body to serve the Lord, than you are eating idolatry. Mothers, what is your motivation in all the healthy food? Is it to help your family worship God or is it so that you can keep with the competition online. Is it so that you can be better than all the mothers who give their kids less than the best? Are you eating out of faith or out of fear? Are you eating out of thanksgiving or with grumbling? Children, do you grumble about what your mothers put on the plates before you. Philippians 2 says 14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, Children, that includes eating. If you are a child of God you may not grumble whether you get your favorite meal or less than favorite. Eat and Drink to the glory of God.
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 Daniel 1:3-4 3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, 4 youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. Look at how kind Ol' King Neb is being here. Out of the goodness of his heart he has taken these young men from Judah and given them a full ride scholarship into the schools of the Chaldeans. They are being given the best government run education in the realm. Listen, Tyrants like Nebuchadnezzar don’t believe that education is neutral and you shouldn’t either. He didn’t have the young men brought to Babylon and have his servants work to educate these young men out of a sense of duty to the conquered people He knew that education was not neutral. His purpose is in indoctrinating these sons of Judah in the culture and language and wisdom of his kingdom. It was to capture the hearts and minds of these young men so that they would be willing slaves.
There is no neutrality in education. Now wait a second you might say: Isn’t education just the teaching of facts and information. Someone might say "the schools should should just give the facts from a “neutral” point-of-view. One must adhere only to the projection of objectively verifiable data whereby personal opinions, insights, or conjecture are left out of the discussion." I read a comment online on an article saying that Secular humanism is a religion and is the foundation of public schools: "Insofar as the Humanist Manifesto declares there is no God, public schools must not be humanist. But neither may they endorse any particular creed they must be deity neuter. Public schools, since they are supported by mandatory taxation, must not teach any religious viewpoint (including atheism) would you like it if your children were taught to reverence Vishnu?" No, I don't want my children being taught to reverence Vishnu and nor do I want them be taught to worship the civil government either. Now, you wait a second! What you said has all kinds of presuppositions. You are assuming that there is such a thing as a neutral fact. You are assuming that there is such a thing as neutrality towards God. But Listen! Jesus Christ said that "whoever is not with him is against him." To not honor God or give thanks to God is to take a position and that position is idolatry. The Bible says plainly about Jesus Christ that all things were made by Him and without him was not anything made that was made. There is not an atom that exists that was not made and sustained by God. Therefore there is not one atom in all the universe that can be neutral. There is not one neutral fact in all of creation. God created the universe and he sustains it by his law and his purposes. We cannot be neutral, nor can education. The universe is not self-created nor is it self-sustaining. It also does not dictate its own purpose. It is created and therefore it has a given purpose not ordained by man but by the maker of all things. The God who has made all things has ordained their purpose, their meaning, and their boundaries. To posit that you can be neutral towards God is to presuppose something other than the truth of creation. You are presupposing either a either a finite god or no God at all. Education must start with one of these foundations. Therefore it will either be based in the truth and reality of God or it will be by definition godless. In so called neutral education the most central and important truth in the universe is left out entirely. It leaves out of teaching the central aspect of all wisdom and all learning for we are told in Psalm 111:10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever." And in Proverbs 1:7: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” RJ Rushdoony rightfully said: "To try to educate without reference to God is worse than teaching about the ocean while denying that it is made up of water." The key to understanding is denied when we deny the God of the universe. To leave God out of the process of education is to deny that we are created responsible to God in all areas of life. If we are not responsible to God even in our work at school than we are denying there is a law of God and that man can transgress that law. And If man cannot transgress, then he is not a sinner, and so does not need Christ or the gospel. The idea of a neutral-facts-only-value-free education is a myth. And it is not believed by the enemies of Christianity. King Nebuchadnezzar was not educating the young men of Judah because he thought education was neutral. He was doing it to indoctrinate these young men into the Chaldean culture and way of life. He wanted them to turn their allegiance from the kingdom of Judah to the kingdom of Babylon. Statists have always seen education as a tool to build allegiance to the state over against allegiance to church and family. Woodrow Wilson before he was president was a teacher of teachers. He once said “Our problem is not merely to help the students to adjust themselves to world life…[but] to make them as unlike their fathers as we can.” Secular humanists and unitarians with their utopian view of history, have longed seen education as the key to moving the population beyond its belief in Christianity and therefore into a view where they can finally lead humanity into a great era of peace and equality. John Dewey is considered one of the fathers of modern American education. He was a committed secular humanist and an original signer of the Secular Humanist Manifesto. He praised the communist Soviet system of schooling this way: “The traditional customs and institutions of the peasant, his small tracts, his three-system farming, the influence of home and Church, all work automatically to create in him an individualistic ideology. In spite of the greater inclination of the city worker towards collectivism, even his social environment works adversely in many respects. Hence the great task of the school is to counteract and transform those domestic and neighborhood tendencies that are still so strong, even in a nominally collectivist régime.” He is saying that the family works against the loyalty to the state. Therefore, it is the work of the school to undermine that loyalty from family to the state. Dewey praised this system of education and worked to establish it in our nation. Dewey went on to say “It is obvious to any observer that in every western country the increase of importance of public schools has been at least coincident with a relaxation of older family ties.” To drive this point all the way home, let me quote from CF Potter a close associate to Dewey and another signer of the humanist manifesto. He said “Humanism is not the abolition of religion but the beginning of real religion. By freeing religion of supernaturalism, it will release tremendous reserves of hitherto thwarted power. Man has waited too long for God to do what man ought to do himself and is fully capable of doing." Now here is the chilling part: “Education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism, and every American public school is a school of humanism. What can the theistic Sunday schools, meeting for an hour once a week, teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?” Education is not neutral. The secular humanists who despise God and want to usurp his throne know it and admit it. It is time that the church do the same.  The Psalm writer wrote: Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received. This is the word of God. It is eternally true and applicable for all of life. Proverbs 25:11-20 Like apples of gold in settings of silver Is a word spoken in right circumstances. Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold Is a wise reprover to a listening ear. Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest Is a faithful messenger to those who send him, For he refreshes the soul of his masters. Like clouds and wind without rain Is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely. By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, And a soft tongue breaks the bone. Have you found honey? Eat only what you need, That you not have it in excess and vomit it. Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor’s house, Or he will become weary of you and hate you. Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor. Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot Is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble. Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda, Is he who sings songs to a troubled heart. Like many of you, I have gone through periods of life in which my heart was so weighed down with burdens, that one more troubled thought or circumstance seemed as if it may have been too much to bear. Speaking for myself, in those moments, attempts by loved ones and friends to comfort, and ease my soul's anguish through “cheering me up”, often proved to be more of a hindrance than not. While I have never felt suicidal, for some, the chains that keep them in their depression drag them down to depths where no attempts to encourage, or make merry have any good effect. Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda, Is he who sings songs to a troubled heart. Matthew Henry says that “We take a wrong course with them if we think to relieve them by being merry with them, and endeavoring to make them merry; for it adds to their grief to see their friends so little concerned with them; it puts them upon ripping up the causes of their grief, and aggravating them, and makes them harden themselves in sorrow against the assaults of mirth.” He calls attempts such as this, absurdities. Ecclesiastes 3:4 states that there is “A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.” Jesus Himself was a Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Time does not permit me to dive fully into the issue of depression, its root causes, and deal with every biblical text regarding troubled hearts. But I will ask this question: When you are depressed, when you are sorrowful, not simply having an off day, or suffering from fatigue, or on the tail end of a bad day at work, but really down, like, in the valley of the shadow of death down, low, what do you need in that moment? Do you need to be made merry? Do you need to laugh? Or do you need something else? Remember the great reformer, Martin Luther? This man found himself in the blackness of sorrow often. On one such occasion, it was his realization that he was justified by God through faith in Jesus Christ, not by penance or good works, that lifted him out of the pit. He realized that his standing before God, and by extension, the course of his whole life, was in God’s hands. His salvation depended upon God who has mercy, not upon his choice. The trials that came to him in life, were from his heavenly Father who loved him, and meant them for his good. Psalm 30:1-5 I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my enemies rejoice over me. [2] O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. [3] O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit. [4] Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name. [5] For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning. I submit to you this morning, that what we need in times of sorrow, isn’t vain attempts by well meaning friends to cheer us up, but instead to cry out to the Father. He has given us the Comforter. He fills us with the Spirit, and causes us to bear fruit, joy being one type. We have a Savior, who has rescued us from the pit! Let us be those who mourn in its due season, with hope. Let us comfort those in mourning with hope, pointing the downcast and broken hearted to Christ. Are you troubled in spirit? Cry out to God for help, and He will lift you out of sheol. Are you depressed in your soul? Cry out to your savior, and He will keep you alive! Respond to His grace with songs of praise, and shouts of thanksgiving! There is a season for everything under the sun, so be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Praise God! He has seen fit to allow you to join in the sufferings of His Son Jesus. Let us cry out to God for mercy. Let us confess how we often suffer in ways that do not honor Him, and thank Him for the trials He uses to refine us. Let us kneel. Heavenly Father, You are good towards Your people. Your lovingkindness endures forever. Your mercies are new every morning. Father, we are often like sheep who have been cast down, unable to pull ourselves up out of the miry pit we fall into. Darkness, sadness, and full blown depression often engulf us. Father, we scramble for solutions, and reasons, and ask “why me? why do I feel this way? Why go on living?” Father, help us to have eyes of faith, that we may properly evaluate our circumstances in light of Your Son Jesus. Help us to remember Christ, that it is His strength that saves, that He was acquainted with grief as well, and now sits as our Great High Priest who understands our weaknesses. Help us to remember that we are the sheep of His pasture, and that the Shepherd laid down his life for us, and walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death. Father, please forgive us for sins that entangle us, and lead us to feel hopeless. Please forgive us for doubts, and vain attempts to seek peace outside of Your Son Jesus. Please forgive us for worldly attempts at comforting friends and family. Father, please help us to be like the Apostle Paul, who cried out “What wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” It’s in Jesus name we pray, Amen. Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. | Titus 2:11-14 To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!
(From the 10/28/18 liturgy of Sovereign King Church. Written by Aaron Sabie.)  Philippians 2: 14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life,
How often do we grumble and complain? Is that all you do with your spouse, your children, or with your parents or friends? Is that all you do on social media? Are you tired of feeling depressed all the time? Well ask yourself if you are a grumbler, disputer, and complainer. How can you expect to not be depressed when all you do is complain about everything? God's holy word tells us to do all things (not just some or a few but all things) without grumbling or disputing. We are to be a people of thanksgiving. We are to be content whether we have or we lack. We are to be thankful to our Father above. Grumbling and complaining is a sin against your heavenly Father. It shows a lack of faith and is besmirching the goodness of God. All things that you have are from God and He gives good gifts to his children. Your complaining and grumbling is an attack on the good name of your Father. Romans 1 talks about those given over to judgment by God. And the two triggers for God giving people over are "they did not honor him as God nor give thanks to him." To grumble and complain is to dishonor God and to not give him the thanks due him. It leads to a darkened heart and foolish thinking. It ends with judgment from God. So how do you stop the cycle of grumbling and disputing? 1. Confess your sin of grumbling and disputing to God and beg his forgiveness for besmirching his name and character. Don't make excuses for it, just confess it recognizing it is evil and God hates it. Do this every time you find yourself grumbling and complaining. 2. In verse 16 of Philippians 2 it says "holding fast to the word of life." The key to doing all things without grumbling and disputing is to hold fast to the word of life. Whenever you are tempted to grumble and complain remind yourself of God's word. 1 Peter 1: 13 says "Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." The King James says gird up the loins of your mind, that is prepare your mind for battle. This means you need to be hiding God's word in your heart so that you will not sin. For those tempted to grumble and complain all the time, you need to go through scripture and begin memorizing passages that remind you of God's holiness and your sinfulness. You need to remind yourself that you deserve nothing from the hand of God. You deserve his wrath and judgment. And then remind yourself from scripture of God's mercy to you a sinner. Everything that you have is a gift from him. Mark Cox is fond of saying that we sweat more in practice so we bleed less in battle. If you want to be able to battle the temptation to grumble and complain, you need to spend time meditating on God's word. 3. Philippians 4: 4 says 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! You are commanded to rejoice in God. Your are forbidden from grumbling and disputing. The Scriptures over and over again command us to be thankful. You need to spend time reminding yourself of what you are thankful for versus spending time reminding yourself of everything to complain about. If you grumble and complain all the time on social media then discipline yourself to spend one month where you make a post every day about something you are thankful for. I did this back in July and called it #ThanksgivinginJuly. It was a time of refreshment for me and reminded me of how great our God is. November is next week. I challenge you to use that whole month to either post on social media or write a journal entry of something you are thankful for every day. When you cultivate within you a thankfulness to God you will find that you have less time to grumble and complain. Listen, depression can attack the best of us. I am not trying to belittle that at all. But you are not allowed to just sit back and take its attacks. You are not allowed to grumble and complain all the time and then call yourself a child of the Almighty. You want it to be proven that you are a child of God in the midst of this dark world, then shine as a light by doing all things, even the hard things, without grumbling or disputing. Then you will be proven blameless and innocent.  The Psalm writer wrote: Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received. This is the word of God. It is eternally true and applicable for all of life. Proverbs 25:1-10 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable. Take away the dross from the silver, And there comes out a vessel for the smith; Take away the wicked before the king, And his throne will be established in righteousness. Do not claim honor in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of great men; For it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,” Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen. Do not go out hastily to argue your case; Otherwise, what will you do in the end, When your neighbor humiliates you? Argue your case with your neighbor, And do not reveal the secret of another, Or he who hears it will reproach you, And the evil report about you will not pass away. Matthew Henry, in speaking of Proverbs 25 verses 4 and 5, says this: This shows that the vigorous endeavour of a prince to suppress vice, and reform the manners of his people, is the most effectual way to support his government. Observe, 1. what the duty of magistrates is: To take away the wicked, to use their power for the terror of evil works and evil workers, not only to banish those that are vicious and profane from their presence, and forbid them the court, but so to frighten them and restrain them that they may not spread the infection of their wickedness among their subjects. This is called taking away the dross from the silver, which is done by the force of fire. Wicked people are the dross of a nation, the scum of the country, and, as such, to be taken away. If men will not take them away, God will, Ps. 119:119 . If the wicked be taken away from before the king, if he abandon them and show his detestation of their wicked courses, it will go far towards the disabling of them to do mischief. The reformation of the court will promote the reformation of the kingdom, Ps. 101:3, Ps. 101:8 . What the advantage will be of their doing this duty. (1.) It will be the bettering of the subjects; they shall be made like silver refined, fit to be made vessels of honour. (2.) It will be the settling of the prince. His throne shall be established in this righteousness. While this passage is dealing directly with the role of the civil magistrates in suppressing evil, I would like us to look at an application of this principle that we see operating within the realm of the local Church. Pastor’s have many roles: they are to shepherd Christ’s sheep (John 21:15-17), they are to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict (Titus 1:9), and they are to exercise oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily (1 Peter 5:2). These undershepherds are tasked with preaching the Word, being examples of godliness to the flock, and protecting the flock from wolves, error, and the leaven of sin. “Purge the evil from among us” is what the Word of God commands, and it is the loving application of God’s Word to this body by the Pastor, which achieves this. God’s Word is preached, the Holy Spirit uses this proclamation to pierce the hearts of men, women, boys, and girls, and in the Spirit filled believer, repentance follows. The faithful preaching of the Word has the effect of refining, removing the dross, so that what remains is a silver vessel fit for honor. Take for instance the issue of modesty. 1 Timothy 2:9-11 NASB Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, [10] but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. [11] A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. Paul lays out in verse 9 what he believes to be, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the attire fitting for a woman who claims godliness. However, he takes it a step further and points to good works being the adornment which truly identifies a woman of God: those things which originate in the heart. Let’s be honest: we like to know where the line is, then walk right up to it and put our toe a mere nanometer away. Example: Blue jeans and t-shirts could be considered modest dress. Would it be modesty, however, to plaster your face all over social media, not seeking to glorify God, but rather to be seen by men? Modest attire or not, if you are seeking to point people to you, rather than Christ, you are being immodest. “Well”, you might say, “ I am dressed modestly, and cannot help how people may perceive me on social media. That’s their sin, not mine.” That’s not what the bible says. The bible says we are to live above reproach (Philippians 2:15), to not cause the little ones to stumble (Matthew 18:6), and refers to an immodest woman as a temptress who is boisterous and rebellious, whose feet do not remain at home (Proverbs 7: 11), she lurks (Proverbs 7:12), she seeks out someone to entice (proverbs 7:15), and she is flattering and seducing (Proverbs 7: 21). It is possible for a woman to dress modestly, while clothed in rebellion and pride. Knowing the spirit of this age, that sexuality is being used as a weapon against God’s people, the Pastor and elders of Sovereign King Church are committed to faithfully preaching God’s Word in a way that highlights the sin and weight that so easily ensnares us, that we might repent, set it aside, and look unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who applies His refining fire to our hearts, and scrapes off the dross. It is true that each man, woman, boy, and girl will give an account of every word, thought, and deed, so let us be sure that we are presenting ourselves above reproach, not causing others to, stumble, displaying Christ’s righteousness to the praise of His glory, not our own. Heavenly Father, we cry out to You for mercy. We beg You to give us clean hearts, and steadfast spirits, that hunger and thirst for Your Righteousness rather than the perishable things of this world, and of our imaginations. Father, we are like dumb sheep, desperately in need of Your gentle guiding hand. Please lead us not into temptation, but away from worthless pastures, stagnant springs, and hidden dangers that threaten to lead us down the wide path of destruction, rather than through Your narrow gate. Father, please crush any semblance of pride and self will within us, and give us repentant hearts that recognize our utter dependance upon You for every area of our lives. Father, please illuminate our minds, that we might recognize all the different ways we may cause others to stumble, and lead us to repentance. Please forgive us of our sin against You. It’s in the Name of Your Precious Son Jesus that we pray, Amen. Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: [He] has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. | 2 Timothy 1:9-10 To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!
 Proverbs 7:11 She is boisterous and rebellious, Her feet do not remain at home...
The book of Proverbs gives a great picture of the difference between a godly woman and a wicked woman. One of the characteristics of the godly woman is that she "looks well to the ways of her household. (Proverbs 31:27) A godly woman's primary focus is homeward. It is not that she is a slave to the kitchen or always cooped up in a house but her primary focus is to the home. The industrious work that she does as a helper to her husband is in care of the household. She is a quiet, submissive, and diligent woman so that her husband can trust her while he is away taking dominion over the earth. The wicked woman is not so. She is boisterous. She is rebellious and she does everything she can to be away from the home. Her focus is outward even if she makes a big show of being homeward focused. She is given to malicious gossip, scorn for authority, and superstition. (Titus is supposed to instruct the older women to avoid these things and teach the younger to be workers at home. Titus 2). Her husband should not trust her. Now we are all aware of the blatant ways that our culture has encouraged woman to place their focus anywhere but the home. But even for women who are not pursuing the career ladder there is a temptation to not have their feet remain at home. Years ago that temptation was through day-time soap operas. Women could leave the home without ever leaving the home. They could get caught up in the manufactured drama, gossip and rebellion of the Bold and the Beautiful. They could live vicariously Young and Restless rebellion through the Days of their Lives. But now Day Time Soaps ratings are plunging. Some media outlets have called Soap Operas "a dying genre." Why is that? Well, why watch manufactured drama when you can be a part of real drama on social media? You can keep your feet far from home while sitting in your living room on your cell phone. Some women can make a big show about being at home, while spending all their time on facebook spreading malicious gossip, creating facebook pages mocking pastors, older women, and other leaders and going from comment thread to comment thread blasting anyone who they disagree with. You can be a boisterous and rebellious regiment with your feet far from home on the internet. You can live the young and restless for real. That is the way, however, of the wicked. The wise woman can use social media in a way that maintains her gentle, quite, and diligent spirit. She can show respect to and for authority. She can use social media in a way that honors God and causes her husband to say “Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.” She can use social media in a way that does not result in her feet constantly on the roam.  The Psalm writer wrote: Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received. This is the word of God. It is eternally true and applicable for all of life. Proverbs 24:30-34 I passed by the field of the sluggard And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense, And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; Its surface was covered with nettles, And its stone wall was broken down. When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction. “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,” Then your poverty will come as a robber And your want like an armed man. If you have ever planted a vegetable garden, you have surely given thought to all that goes into bringing vegetables to fruition: selecting the proper garden site, tilling the land, removing rocks and other foreign debris, insuring the proper PH balance in the soil, whether to fertilize, or not, choosing your seeds, planting the seeds at their proper depth, and taking steps to ensure that varmints couldn’t have their way in your garden. Planting a garden is labor intensive. After all of that work, it would be the height of laziness to then leave the garden unattended, unwatered, and uncared for. To assume that the garden would thrive with no effort on your part, would show a lack of understanding about how to maintain a garden so that it produces. Neglect would lead directly to weeds, thistles, and nettles growing and choking the life out of any plants that may have been growing. Barriers put up to keep varmints out would fall into disarray, leaving your garden susceptible to raids from unwanted visitors. Think of the impact this sluggardly, senseless behavior could have on those who depended upon the fruit of your labors. This is the state of the field and vineyard of the sluggard with no sense. “Well, I’m not a gardener” you might say. Or perhaps “I have the best fields and vineyards, this doesn’t apply to me”. As we have been reminded by Pastor Mark on many an occasion, How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. The child of God bears fruit in its season. He is planted firmly by streams of water. The child of God is one that has been born again, given a heart of flesh, filled with God’s Holy Spirit, saved by grace through faith, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Our Heavenly Father does not plow your heart, plant His Spirit within you, and leave you alone to your own devices, guided by your own imaginations. He knows you cannot walk through the narrow gate in your own strength. He knows you do not have the wisdom to navigate this life on your own. He knows you are weak, feeble, men, women, boys, and girls of dust. That is why He has given us means of grace to grow us up into maturity, to strengthen us along the way, to encourage us to persevere, to give us hope, and fill us with peace and joy even in the darkest valley’s of life. What are these means of grace? I will briefly cite two: 1) The faithful preaching of God’s Word by your pastor. Faith comes through hearing and hearing by the word of God. It is not enough to listen to your favorite preacher once a month, or to read and like the occasional verse on facebook. Having memorized the bible as a child and sat under preaching in your youth, only to neglect those means of grace in your advancing years, is akin to the man who planted a vineyard and left it unattended. It is sluggardly, and foolish. Being a member of a faithful, bible believing church, sitting under the teaching of biblical, God honoring preaching, with a Pastor who seeks to apply the Word to your life in his role as undershepherd, is one way God gives us grace to grow as believers. 2) Prayer. Prayer is where you cry out “Abba Father!” if you are a true believer. Prayer is where we confess our sins. Here we give thanks. Here we praise His name and give Him glory. It is where we submit to His word. This is where we say to God “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, not mine”. Prayer is where we ask God for grace, seek His will, and persistently make our petitions known to Him. Jesus didn’t say “If you pray”, He said “When you pray”. As I remind my children often, prayer is the most potent weapon in our arsenal as Christians. Remember what Pastor Mark read from Revelation last week? Our prayers go up before God out of a golden censer as incense, a sweet smelling aroma, and they are flung back down to the earth onto our enemies: the flesh, the world, satan, and sin. Do not neglect this means of grace. And do not be deceived: The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous (Proverbs 15:29). If one turns away his ear from hearing the Law, even his prayer is an abomination. Let us kneel in prayer and confess to Almighty God how in our neglect of the means of grace that He provides for our growth and sanctification, we become as the sluggardly and senseless one. Heavenly Father, Your Son Jesus is full of grace and truth. He prayed to You to sanctify us by Your Word, and taught us to pray. Yet, far too often we drift. We wander. We are easily distracted. We love our sin. Father, we truly are like sheep gone astray. We are like the sheep who looks into the pasture next to the one You have us in, and wind up stuck in a bush of thistles and nettles, or cast down, unable to get up. We trade your glorious Word, Your perfect Law, for the thoughts of our own imaginations. We pray to you requesting 3 wishes as if you were a genie in a bottle, rather than saying with the tax collector “Be merciful towards me a sinner!” Please be merciful towards us, O LORD. Please grant us clean, repentant hearts and steadfast spirits. Please forgive us of our sins. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: Revelation 3:20 To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!
(From the 10/14/18 liturgy of Sovereign King Church. Written by Aaron Sabie.)  The Psalm writer wrote: Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received. This is the word of God. It is eternally true and applicable for all of life. Proverbs 25:11-20 Like apples of gold in settings of silver Is a word spoken in right circumstances. Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold Is a wise reprover to a listening ear. Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest Is a faithful messenger to those who send him, For he refreshes the soul of his masters. Like clouds and wind without rain Is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely. By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, And a soft tongue breaks the bone. Have you found honey? Eat only what you need, That you not have it in excess and vomit it. Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor’s house, Or he will become weary of you and hate you. Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor. Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot Is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble. Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda, Is he who sings songs to a troubled heart. Who here has watched the Hobbit series of movies? If you have, you are familiar with the epic battle scenes where clubs, swords, and arrows are employed to wage war. In the movies these weapons wreak havoc on the field of battle. Bloodshed, carnage, destroyed lives, and death are left in the wake of advancing armies. In real life, history has been shaped by the use of these weapons of war. These tools were designed to inflict maximum damage to their target, incapacitate, and destroy them. Our passage today draws a parallel between theses weapons of war, and the man who would bear false witness: Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor. In the politically charged environment in which we live, bearing false witness is all the rage. Everyone is doing it. We can look back a year and see the destruction that bearing false witness brought upon the life of Roy Moore. Most recently, Brett Kavanaugh. In both cases, accusers came out of the woodwork at the final hour, like cruise missiles programmed with one thing in mind: destroy. In truth, we do not know whether these two men were guilty of anything they were accused of, but we do know this: because of the evidence deficient, time eroded, and fragmented memory of witnesses making 30+ year old claims, one man had his life completely flipped upside down and plans derailed, and another escaped by the skin of his teeth, at huge cost to his family and reputation. The ninth commandment states: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”. Deuteronomy 19:16-20 says this: “If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you”. Maybe you are saying to yourself “I am definitely not running around accusing people of things like what we have seen in the news lately”. Let me attempt to paint a picture for you of what this bearing false witness may look like in our lives. Several weeks ago a coworker came to me and spun a story that involved possible illegal activity, a veiled threat of violence, and included a person who was unknowingly caught up in the whole thing. Knowing the background of the workplace, it sounded plausible. With the threat of violence, and an innocent person possibly caught up in this web, I decided to take action. I was quickly distanced from the event, but it became obvious that though the story may have been true, there was apparently no second or third witness to testify. Instead of justice, or a resolution, what ensued was 2 weeks of head spinning, accusations, gossip, veiled threats, and endless speculation by people who had no idea of any of the details that were spoken of. In the end, I do not know whether or not any of the accusations were true, but the carnage they caused was tremendous. The Bible commands us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. We are warned of the danger of multiplying words, because when we do, sin is not lacking. Being gossips, and busybodies, are to be avoided, but rather when we speak, our language should be seasoned with salt, giving grace to the hearer. Our Lord Jesus was betrayed by false witnesses, and we also betray Him when as children of God we choose lies over speaking the truth. If you are able, please kneel as we confess how we have failed to keep God’s Law. Heavenly Father, You hate lying lips. We profane Your Holiness with our mouths as we speak false witness against our neighbors. As Your image bearers, we display You as a liar to the world when we bear false witness against one another. Father, we multiply words so often, that in our gossiping we bear false witness and wreak havoc in the hearts of men. Please be merciful to us sinners. We have unclean lips, which reveal hearts that are full of envy, murder, and strife. Please forgive us of our sins O Lord. Please fill us with Your Spirit, that we may display self control in the words we use. Father, please help us to be a people who offer words of hope, life, and restoration, rather than words of death and destruction. We come to You seeking mercy, grace, and forgiveness, in the Name of Your Son Jesus, Amen. Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. | Titus 2:11-14 To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!
(From the 10/07/18 liturgy of Sovereign King Church. Written by Aaron Sabie.)  The Psalm writer wrote: Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received. This is the word of God. It is eternally true and applicable for all of life. Proverbs 24:11-20 Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back. If you say, “See, we did not know this,” Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work? My son, eat honey, for it is good, Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste; Know that wisdom is thus for your soul; If you find it, then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off. Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not destroy his resting place; For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Or the Lord will see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him. Do not fret because of evildoers Or be envious of the wicked; For there will be no future for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out. I was talking to a Christian brother last week who told a story that resonated through my soul, it echoed my own experiences as a believer, and it highlighted what I believe is a problem common to many Christians. The story was essentially this: He had spent many hours preaching on some hostile college campus, in one of the most liberal cities in America, speaking about some of the most hot button topics of our day, sharing the gospel faithfully. When he left, he got on the subway, sat down next to a fellow passenger, felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to share the good news, and suddenly could not. Fear of man struck him like a plague. He was paralyzed. Tongue tied. He did not know what to say, or how to even start the conversation. He went from bold to mute in a matter of minutes. Has this ever happened to you? You have an area of your life where you seem so bold, so confident, so sure of yourself when speaking of the glorious cross, but then other times fear of man stops you dead in your tracks. I’ve thought about this phenomena quite a bit, because it happens to me often. One thing I noticed, and my street preaching friend acknowledged this fact as well, is that, it seems that when there is an area of our lives where fear of man has stifled our evangelism, conversations become more and more difficult to have in the future, and the opportunities that seemed plentiful before, go away. It seems for me that when I lack faithfulness in the intimate areas of my life, the boldness and opportunities to minister in other areas seem to evaporate as well. How does this relate to our scripture passage today? Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back. It is very tempting, and would be very easy, to look at our presence on social media, our street preaching and abortion ministry, and sit back saying “ SKC has the gospel sharing thing covered”. It could be tempting for us to look at our boldness in dropping the welcome to Clark County tract all over town, and all over the internet, and sit back as if we have just added the finishing touches to the Great Commission. At SKC, we ARE bold. We DO go to the hard places. We have two young ladies about to go to China to help orphans, and more going in the future. As a Church we have driven all over the state, and sometimes the country, to share the good news of Jesus, as we should. We are commanded to deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back. In what you might call the high profile, very visible manifestations of this, SKC is faithful. But what about in your everyday life? Not hiding behind the keyboard. Not looking over the horizon to the next event. I am talking about the interaction with your coworker who hates his wife. That cashier at the store who looks frazzled. The family member who has all but been written off by you. Hold. Them. Back. We have a society falling off the edge at terminal velocity right now. It is tempting for us to push back on the culture in very visible, more band for the buck ways with the Good News, and we should. The internet has made it easy to spread the good news far and wide with a few keystrokes. Hallelujah! This is a blessing. We know that the gospel impacts all of life. It is the gospel that can change the abortion conversation in this country. It is the gospel that can turn fathers back to their children. It is the gospel that gives homosexuals hope. It is the gospel that rescues orphans and cares for widows. We recognize that faithful Christians in positions of authority can and do lead in ways that are faithful to God, which have God honoring impacts on our society. It’s why we rail against our godless government. It’s why we call fathers to repentance on the street. It’s why we take advantage of the internet. It’s why we go to the parades and festivals. However, let us not neglect the person sitting next to us. Let us not be cowards and neglect that coworker. Men, we must lead our homes. Our children will either be a scourge to this society, or will blend in with it and fade into oblivion. Ladies, don’t play nice with the feminism in co-op. Feminism is ravaging the women in our churches, you must speak up in your intimate circles. Husbands, lay your life down for your wives, which may mean going to battle and making some changes in your home. These very intimate areas, in our day to day relationships, will have tremendous ramifications for the Kingdom of God. Gird up your loins and remember why God caused you to be born again: it was for His Glory, not Your comfort. Hold them back. Be ready to preach in season and out of season the Bible tells us. That includes those areas of your life that try to occupy with busyness, because fear of man has you in chains. Oh hold them back. Let us kneel and pray, and confess how we have fallen short of His Glory. Father of mercies, we cry out to You. We are so thankful for Your grace and goodness towards us. We thank you for opening our eyes that we may see, and giving us ears that we may hear. Father, we recognize that oftentimes, our sight and hearing are dull. Often, the heart of flesh that You put in, becomes calloused, and numb. Father, we are frequently paralyzed with fear, worrying about what man may say or do to us should we speak of Your Son. We often trade obedience, for comfort and peace. Your son Jesus said He didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword, yet we avoid the difficult, intimate, costly confrontations, in favor of those that do not cost as much. Please forgive us of our sins. Please forgive us for our cowardice, our desire for comfort over obedience. Please fill us with Your Spirit. Father, give us strength, courage, and wisdom to hold back those stumbling to death. Please forgive us where we have neglected those closest to us out of fear, apathy, and laziness. Help us to fear You, not men and women of flesh. Please Oh Lord, help us to remember Your promises, that You will never leave or forsake us, and that You have overcome the world. It’s in Jesus name we pray, Amen. Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: [He] has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. | 2 Timothy 1:9-10 To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!
(From the 9-30-18 liturgy of Sovereign King Church. Written by Aaron Sabie.) |
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