In the early days of TV, there was a popular comedy show called “Amos and Andy,” known for its far-fetched gags. One of which, there was a big man who would always slap Andy in the chest, which he detested.
Finally, Andy got enough of it and said to Amos, “I am ready for him. I put a stick of dynamite in my vest pocket and the next time he slaps me, he is going to get his hand blown off!” To cherish vengeful feelings is like having a stick of dynamite hidden in our pocket.
Such a volatile attitude may trigger explosions that not only do irreparable harm to other people, but to us as well.
The spirit of revenge crept into the lives of the disciples.
When Christ was rejected by a village of Samaritans, James and John wanted fire to come down from heaven to destroy the people. Jesus rebuked them by saying, “You do not know what spirit you are of” (Luke 9:51 – 56). Marilyn vos Savant correctly observed, “An act of justice closes the book on a misdeed; an act of vengeance writes one of its own.”
Instead of taking revenge, we are told, “Do not say, ‘I will repay evil’: wait on the Lord, and He will save you” (Proverbs 20:22). Fenelon, a 17th –century theologian, explained it this way, “Don’t be so upset when evil men and women defraud you.
Let them do as they please; just seek to do the will of God…silent peace and sweet fellowship with God will repay you for every evil thing done against you. Fix your eyes on God.”
In Romans 12:19, Paul admonished, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (NIV). A little boy, being asked what forgiveness is, gave this answer, “It is the odor that flowers breathe when they are trampled on.” When Philip the Good was advised to punish someone who had badly betrayed him, declined, saying, “It is a fine thing to have revenge in one’s power; but it is a finer thing not to use it.”
Someone stated, “You will never get ahead trying to get even.” During one of the persecutions of the Armenians by the Turks, an Armenian girl and her brother were trapped by a bloodthirsty Turkish soldier. He killed the brother before the terrified eyes of the girl. She managed to escape by clambering over a wall and fleeing the country.
Later, she became a nurse, and one day a wounded soldier was brought into the hospital where she worked. She recognized him at once as the man who had killed her brother. His condition was such that the least neglect or carelessness on the part of the nurse would have cost him his life. However, she gave him the most painstaking and constant care.
One day when he was on the road to recovery, he recognized her and asked, “Why have you done this for me who killed your brother?” “Because I am a Christian, ” the nurse replied. “I am following One who has taught me to forgive those who wrong me.”
Leviticus 19:18, “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida 34654
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
The late president of Wheaton College, V. Raymond Edman, wrote, “Paganism has no note of thanksgiving in its worship. Its people may have prayer wheels and make pilgrimages, but they have no song of praise. They have fetishes erected for fear of evil spirits, but they know nothing of a feast of gratitude for God’s goodness. They have idols, but no ideals that show God’s mercy and grace.”
In Luke, chapter 17, we have record of Christ healing ten lepers, with only one returning to show his gratitude. Christ asked, “Where are the nine? ” Albert Barnes wrote, “What a striking illustration this is of human nature, and of the ingratitude of man! ” Matthew Henry adds, “This intimates that ingratitude is a very common sin.” Further, we read in Pulpit Commentary, “The Master appears especially moved by this display. He seems to see in the thanklessness of the nine, contrasted with the conduct of the one, the ingratitude of men as a whole, ‘as a prophetic type of what will also ever take place’ (Stier).”
The word “Thanksgiving” is used thirty times in the Bible. In the Old Testament, it is used twenty-one times as a “sacrifice of praise and worship of God, ” and in the New Testament it is used nine times as “grateful language to God as an act of worship.” Sir Moses Montetfiore, the Hebrew philanthropist, had as the motto of his family, “Think and Thank.” In the Anglo-Saxon language, thankfulness means, “thinkfulness.” Thinking of all God’s goodness draws forth gratitude.
Thomas Merton stated, “To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything.” One day a man was invited to eat dinner with an old Indian, a highly respected man in the community. As soon as they sat down at the table, the man began to eat, but the Indian paused, bowed his head and gave thanks to God for the food. Then, gazing at the guest intently, the old Indian said, “Do you know what a man reminds me of who sits down to the table and eats the food that God gives him without thanking God for it?” “No, ” said the man abruptly, as he continued to eat. “Well,” said the Indian, “the man who sits down to the table and eats the food that God gives him without thanking God for it, reminds me a good deal of the hog under a chestnut tree eating chestnuts, and doesn’t so much as look up to see where the chestnuts come from.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks.” Remember, “Gratitude is the highest form of repayment! ”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
“FILTHINESS, FOOLISH TALKING, AND COURSE JESTING”
By David Arnold
01/14/09
A coachman, pointing to one of his horses, said to a traveler, “That horse knows when I swear at him.” “Yes,” replied the traveler, “and so does your Maker.”
In Ephesians 5:3 and 4, Paul spoke of “filthiness, foolish talking, and course jesting,” stating, “let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints.” “Filthiness” refers to “obscenity, all that is contrary to purity.” “Foolish talking” is “talk which is both foolish and sinful.” In the Greek, it is the word from which comes the word “moron.” Someone observed, “Profanity is an evidence of the lack of sufficient vocabulary and brains.” “Jesting” carries the connotation of all sorts of low-type conversation, including shady jokes, which are supposed to be funny, but are unwholesome. Lord Byron declared, “He knew not what to say, so he swore.”
The adjective “profane” is found five times in the New Testament. The word comes from two Latin words – “pro” meaning “in front of,” and “fane” meaning “temple.’ A profane word is one you would not use in church, and is a good way to judge the language we use. No dedicated Christian will use profanity, yet some will use substitutes, which the dictionary calls euphemisms (“the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive word or expression for one that is harsh, indelicate, or otherwise unpleasant or taboo”). “Gosh” is defined in any unabridged dictionary as a substitute for “God.” “Gee” is a form of Jesus, used in minced oaths. “Golly” is another euphemism for God. “Darn” and “darned” are colloquial substitutes for “damn, damned, damnation.” “Dickens” is used for “the devil,” and “doggone” for “darn.” It has been stated, “The minced oaths we use are just profanity dressed up in Sunday clothes, but they are profanity just the same.”
George Washington’s Orderly Book of August 3, 1776, included this comment: “The general is sorry to be informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane swearing, a vice hitherto little known in the American army, is growing into fashion; he hopes the officers will, by example, as well as influence, endeavor to check it, and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our arms if we insult it by our impiety and profanity. Added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it.”
Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth…be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
THE DECEITFULNESS OF SIN
By David Arnold
11/20/08
The late preacher and author, Vance Havner, wrote, “Some time ago a friend of mine took me to a restaurant where they must have loved darkness rather than light. I stumbled into a dimly-lit cavern, fumbled for a chair, and mumbled that I needed a flashlight in order to read the menu. Gradually, however, I began to make out objects a little more clearly. My host said, ‘Funny, isn’t it, how we get used to the dark’? We are living in the dark…and we get used to it. There is a slow, subtle, sinister brainwashing process going on, and by it we are gradually being desensitized to evil. Little by little, sin is made to appear less sinful, until the light within us becomes darkness – and how great is that darkness!”
Hebrews 3:13 warns of “the deceitfulness of sin.” The word “deceitfulness” refers to a trick, stratagem, or delusion. Andrew Murray stated, “All sin is deceit.” Alexander Pope described the gradual process:
“Vice is a monster of such frightful mien,
As to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.”
Ayn Rand, who was an atheist, wrote a long passage in The Fountainhead on how to wreck a society. One of the rules she cites is to teach the people to laugh at everything, including the sacred and sinful. Proverbs 14:9 states, “Fools mock at sin.” Marketing sin under a different label is a very effective tool of the devil. Today, lying is merely “stretching the truth.” Lusting is “healthy admiration.” Sexual perversion of all types is described as “practicing under God-given alternate lifestyles.” The killing of the unborn is termed “pro-choice” and “planned parenthood.” Advocating that there is no absolute truth is accepted as “broadminded tolerance.” To stand for Biblical truth of right and wrong is called “intolerant.” The promoting of pluralism (many paths to Heaven), is called “loving and open-minded”, yet those who advocate that Christ is the only Way to eternal life are labeled as “bigots.” Isaiah warned, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (5:20). Jeremiah stated, “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination. No! They were not at all ashamed; nor did they know how to blush,” (Jeremiah 6:15). The warning of Dr. E. M. Blaiklock needs heeding, “Our greatest security against sin is to be shocked by it.”
Christ revealed, “Men love darkness rather than light,” John 3:19. A man in his village went out and gathered a pail of figs. He brought them into his hut that evening, lit a candle, and took a fig out of his pail. After biting into it, he discovered half a worm. He threw the fig out the door, and took another fig. After biting into the second fig, he again discovered half a worm. He threw the fig out the door, and tried a third time. Once again, there was half a worm. So he blew out his candle and enjoyed the rest of his figs in the dark. “Man has become naturalized in unnatural sin.”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastsworship.com
THERE IS A GENERATION
In his article, “The World’s Second Oldest Religion,” R. J. Rushdoony wrote, “Traditional Christian society as we have known it is on its death bed. Our society is not only secular in life-style and world view, but in thought and philosophy. As society, and for that matter the church, is shedding the garments of longstanding tradition, two alternatives are now open. One is to embrace and live under some form of humanism; the other is to come under the mandates of the Kingdom of God.”
In Proverbs 30:11 – 14, a generation is described. It is a class or kind of people who degenerate towards godlessness. Four descriptions are given:
1. A generation that curses its foundations and rejects Biblical authority. “There is a generation that curses its father, and does not bless its mother,” verse 11. “Curses” means “to despise, to bring into contempt.” “Father” means “the foundation that protects,” and “mother” speaks of “the bond of the family.” It is a generation that rejects basic Judeao-Christian values that have been the foundation of stability and protection. William Penn warned, “If we are not ruled by God, then we will be ruled by tyrants.”
2. A generation that is religious, but not born again. “There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness,” verse 12. To be “pure in its own eyes” is to develop one’s own personal idea of salvation and believe it to be true, even when it contradicts the Bible. However, the verse continues with “yet is not washed from its filthiness.” “Washed” means “cleansed,” and “filthiness” in the Hebrew means “to evacuate the bowels or to excrete.” This is a generation of people who have convinced themselves they are clean, but their hearts are as filthy as that which belongs in the sewer. “Christians” but not born-again.
3. A generation that becomes a god unto itself. “There is a generation – oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up,” verse 13. “Lofty eyes” and “eyes lifted up” are defined as man exalting himself and becoming his own standard of values, or lack thereof. Amos D. Millard wrote, “Humanism is a system of thought and action which holds that man is capable of self-fulfillment, peace on earth, and right ethical conduct without recourse to God. It is thus a religion which deifies man and dethrones God.”
4. A generation driven by a spirit of violence and devalues human life. “There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and whose fangs are like knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men,” verse 14. John Paul 11 said, “Abortion, the deliberate killing of a human being before birth, is never morally acceptable and must always be opposed.” During his reign as king, Manasseh sacrificed his own children to idols and ruthlessly killed people, illustrating that what we believe deep within us has a profound effect on our behavior. Abortion, the ruthless and merciless slaughter of the unborn, is not just another issue, but it is THE ISSUE, because how we value one individual life, determines our view of all of life!
Acts 2:40, “Save yourself from the perverse (crooked) generation.”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
Martin Luther proclaimed, “God alone has secret plans, and what He’ll do we will find out when it happens. We’ll leave things in His hands and cast our cares on Him, for it’s His cause that is at stake, and He will advance it.”
To fail to recognize the sovereignty of God, is to fail in all of life. In Psalm 67:4 we read, “For You…govern the nations on earth.” “Govern” means “To lead and guide them as a shepherd his flock.” The seal of one of the Waldensian churches pictures an anvil and a number of broken hammers, with the motto: “Hammer away, ye hostile hands! Your hammers break; God’s anvil stands.”
One purpose of the Book of Daniel is to demonstrate the overruling and providential power of God over all the affairs of man. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, “That the living may know that the Most High rules in the affairs of men, and gives it to whomever He will” (4:17, 25 and 32). The word translated “Most High” is a title, and is used in Scripture for God only, never to a member of the human race in his role as ruler. It is a title to describe God’s absolute position of authority. He is the Most High. There is none other above Him with any right to rule. Psalm 83:18, “That men may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.”
Proverbs 21:1 states, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” The Hebrew meaning of “rivers” refers to irrigation canals which were under the control of the farmer. Three times in the book of Jeremiah, the Lord refers to Nebuchadnezzar as, “My servant” (25:9; 27:6 and 43:10). In Ezekiel 29:20, God said of the entire Babylonian Empire, “they worked for Me.” The heart of King Cyrus was turned to send the Israelites back to their homeland after 70 years of captivity. God pre-named him some 150 years before his birth, and in Isaiah 44 and 45, told what he would do. He even turned the heart of Artaxerxes to send provisions as well as people, for rebuilding the temple (See Nehemiah). Psalms 47:3, “For the rulers of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted.”
Circumstances do not alter God’s great sovereignty. For this reason, a follower of Christ will recognize His hand in times of prosperity (Deuteronomy 8:18), or in adversity (Job 1:12). On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached that Christ was “delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God” (to be) “crucified, and put to death” (Acts 2:23). “Delivered” means “handed over,” and “determined purpose” means “predetermined plan” or “set purpose.” What man declared to be an unjust tragedy, the foreknowledge of God knew it was for our redemption.
F. B. Meyer reminded, “The Oriental shepherd was always ahead of his sheep. He was in front. Any attempt upon them had to take him into account. Now God is down in front. He is in the tomorrows. It is tomorrow that fills men with dread. But God is there already, and all tomorrows of our life have to pass before Him before they can get to us.”
“All I know is…everything.” – God.
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
HE IS ABLE
James Stewart, in his book The Wind Of The Spirit wrote, concerning the men of the New Testament, “They do not attribute anything to themselves…The constant watchword of the New Testament is not ‘We are able’: what you do find over and over again is ‘He is able’—and when they say it, they are looking away from themselves to God.”
On six different occasions, we find the expression “He is able” in the New Testament.
He is able to SUCCOUR. Hebrews 2:18, “He is able to succour them that are tempted” (KJV). “Succour” means “to come to the aid of.” The N.E.B translates, “He is able to help those who are meeting their test now.” Paul stated that when we are tempted, “God will make a way of escape” (I Corinthians 10:13). “Escape” has the connotation of a narrow passage out of a treacherous canyon. Remember, “When you meet temptation, turn to the right.”
He is able to SURPASS. Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.” God promises in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” This last phrase means, literally, “to give you what you long for.” Spurgeon preached, “He cannot lie, He never will revoke His word. Has He said, and shall He not do it? He has spontaneously made the promise, and He will divinely make it good. Upon every promise the blood of Jesus Christ has set its seal, making it ‘yea and amen’ forever.”
He is able to SECURE. 2 Timothy 1:12, “He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” “Committed to Him” is an expression used for depositing something precious in a bank for safety. A. W. Pink assured, “Nothing is too great and nothing is too small to commit into the hands of the Lord.”
He is able to SAVE. Hebrews 7:25, “He is able to save to the uttermost.” The word translated “uttermost” indicates that which is complete, perfect, and final. An alcoholic became miraculously born again. A former drinking buddy teased him, asking, “You don’t really believe Jesus turned that water into wine, do you?” Although barely acquainted with the Bible, he answered, “Well, I don’t know much about that, but I do know that at our house He changed beer into furniture!”
He is able to SUPPORT. Jude 24, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling.” To the believers at Philadelphia, in Revelation 3:8, Christ stated, “You have kept My Word.” Then in verse 10, He promises, “I also will keep you.” Vance Havner commented, “There are two ‘keeps’ here. Because they kept the Word of His patience, He will keep them. They kept and are kept.”
He is able to SUBDUE. Philippians 1:21, “He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” “Subdue” is a military word meaning “to put under rank.” James wrote, “Be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord” James 5:7. “Coming” is used of the invasion of a country by an army and the visit of the king. Christ’s return will be the final invasion of earth by heaven to overthrow evil and establish righteousness. A layman wrote a letter to his preacher friend, and instead of signing it, “Yours truly,” or “Sincerely,” he just signed it, “Until.” We are waiting until His enemies are made His footstool (Psalms 110:1).
HE IS ABLE!
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
Tito, the Communist leader
(WORDS)
10/20/08
By David Arnold
In a country church of a small town, an altar boy, serving the priest at Sunday mass, accidentally dropped the cruet of wine. The priest harshly slapped the altar boy on the cheek, and in angry voice, shouted, “Leave the altar and don’t come back!” That boy became Tito, the Communist leader. In the cathedral of a large city, an altar boy, serving the bishop at Sunday mass, accidentally dropped the cruet of wine. With a warm, gentle look in his eyes, the bishop lovingly whispered, “Someday you will be a priest.” That boy grew up to become Archbishop Fulton Sheen.
Proverbs 18:21 states, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Victor Hugo said, “Be it true or false, what is said about men, often has as much influence upon their lives, and especially upon their destinies, as what they do.” Words are spirit, producing either death or life into people or situations. R. Whitman Seaman warned, “Words can be daggers plunged into the soul, and their wounds can leave scars for life.”
In Matthew 12:36, Christ Jesus said, “But I say to you for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment.” The word “idle” means “out of work.” When our tongue is out of work, and not being used for useful purposes, it can cause immeasurable destruction. Proverbs 15:4 declares, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”
James wrote in 3:6 that the tongue “defiles” which means, “to spot or stain.”
When Leonardo da Vinci was painting his great masterpiece, The Last Supper, he became angry with a friend. He spoke cruel and hurtful words to him, threatening his friend with vengeance. Returning to his work, he began to paint the face of Christ. He discovered, however, that he was so disturbed and upset that he could not compose himself sufficiently for the delicate work required of him. He immediately went out to seek his friend, humbled himself, and asked for his forgiveness. Then, in possession of a calm spirit, he was able to give the Master’s face the tender expression that he knew He must have.
Proverbs 21:23 admonishes, “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from trouble.” Caution, “To unspeak a word you have spoken is no more possible than to unpick a flower you’ve already picked!” “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one,” Colossians 4:6.
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
*NEW BOOK RELEASED SOON:
“WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?”
(Answers to One of Life’s Greatest Moral Questions)
THE BLESSINGS OF GOD
10/10/08
By David Arnold
There is a fable about a man who found an enormous building in Heaven. Inside the building, he saw rows and rows of neatly stacked boxes, each tied with a satin bow. When the man found the box with his name on it, he quickly tore it open. Inside his box, he found all the blessings that God had wanted to give to him while he was on earth but he had never asked.
In Genesis 12:2 and 3, God gave Abraham a sevenfold promise, and two of those were, first, “I will bless you, ” revealing that God wants to bless us individually. Second, “And you will be a blessing.” The Hebrew is taken as an imperative. This is really a command. God blesses us so that we can be a blessing.
Augustine stated, “God is more anxious to bestow His blessings on us than we are to receive them.” In Psalm 21:3 David wrote of himself, “For you meet him with the blessing of goodness.” The word “meet” means “to anticipate, to precede, to foresee and fulfill in advance, to pay a debt before it is due.” Furthermore, in almost every usage, it implies something of pleasure. He claimed God’s promise of blessing.
Dr. S. D. Gordon wrote that he could never forget his mother’s paraphrase of Malachi 3:10. The verse begins, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, ” and ends, “I will pour.” Her paraphrase was this: “Give all He asks; take all He promises.”
God states in Isaiah 65:24, “It will come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.” David Wilkerson commented, “This verse provides us with an incredible picture of our Lord’s love for us. Evidently, He is so anxious to bless us, so ready to fulfill His loving kindness in our lives, that He can’t even wait for us to tell Him our needs. He jumps in and performs acts of mercy, grace and love toward us. And that is a supreme pleasure to Him.”
Ephesians 1:3 reveals our heavenly Father is the source of our spiritual blessing. Philippians 4:19 tells us that He supplies our temporal blessings through Christ. Psalm 103 lists five of God’s benefits for His people. Someone has described them as: First, God’s court of law, “Who forgives all your iniquities.” Second, God’s hospital, “Who heals all your diseases.” Third, God’s safe haven, “Who redeems your life from destruction.” Fourth, God’s throne room, “Who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies.” Fifth, God’s banquet hall, “Who satisfies your mouth with good things.”
“How thankful we should be that God’s blessings are dispensed according to the riches of His grace, and not according to the poverty of our faith” (Arthur W. Pink).
“And this is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them:
‘The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face to shine upon you,
And be gracious unto you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.’
So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”
(Numbers 6:23 – 27)
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
GOSSIP.WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
09/22/08
By David Arnold
Morgan Blake, a writer for the “Atlanta Journal,” wrote the following: “I am more deadly than the screaming shell from the howitzer. I win without killing. I tear down homes, break hearts, and wreck lives. I travel on the wings of the wind. No innocence is strong enough to intimidate me, no purity pure enough to daunt me. I have no regard for truth, no respect for justice, no mercy for the defenseless. My victims are as numerous as the sands of the sea, and often as innocent. I never forget and seldom forgive. My name is Gossip.”
In Proverbs 6:16 – 19, we read of seven things God hates, and three relate to the tongue: a lying tongue, a false witness, and sowing discord. Augustine had a motto printed on the wall of his dining room: “He that speaks an evil word of an absent man or woman is not welcome at this table.”
We read in Proverbs 26:21, “The words of a talebearer (gossip or slanderer) are as wounds, and they go down into the inmost parts of the body.” Someone stated, “Of all the wounds inflicted upon others, the hardest to heal are those made by the tongue.” Dr. A. B. Simpson declared, “I would rather play with forked lightning or take in my hands living wires, than to speak a reckless word against any servant of Christ, or idly repeat the slanderous darts which thousands of Christians are hurling on others to the hurt of their own souls and bodies.”
Christ said in Matthew 12:34, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” By examining the tongue of the patient, physicians find out the diseases of the body, philosophers discover the diseases of the mind, and God knows the sins of the heart. The Jewish teachers taught: “Four persons are shut out from the presence of God – the scoffer, the hypocrite, the liar, and the retailer of slander.”
A Greek philosopher asked his servant to provide the best dish possible. The servant prepared a dish of tongue, saying, “It is the best of all dishes, because with it we may bless and communicate happiness, dispel sorrow, remove despair, cheer the fainthearted, inspire the discouraged, and say a hundred other things to uplift mankind.” Later, the philosopher asked his servant to provide the worst dish of which he could think. A dish of tongue appeared at the table. The servant said, “It is the worst, because with it we may curse and break human hearts, destroy reputations, promote discord and strife, set families, communities, and nations at war with each other. “
“The proof that you have God’s Spirit in your life is not that you speak with an unknown tongue, but that you know how to control the tongue that you do know about, ” (J. Sidlow Baxter).
Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
THE PROMISES OF GOD
09/15/08
By David Arnold
George W. Truett, while serving as pastor of First Baptist Church, in Dallas, Texas, told his congregation, “The New Testament speaks of three precious things: ‘The precious blood of Christ’( 1 Peter 1:19); ‘like precious faith’ ( 2 Peter 1:1), and “exceedingly great and precious promises’ ( 2 Peter 1:4).”
Everek R. Storms, successful author and an active layman in the Missionary Church, in an article called, “Standing On The Promises, ” stated, “The Holy Scriptures contain a grand total of 8,810 promises. How do I know? I counted them…There are 7,487 promises that God has given to man. This is about 85 per cent of all the promises in the Bible.” Peter referred to them as “exceedingly great and precious promises, ” meaning “rich and wonderful blessings He promised” (TLB).
A missionary endeavored successfully to teach faith in prayer to his converts. He told them he would not accept any prayer request they brought to him, unless it was accompanied with a promise they had found in the Bible that matched the nature of their request. In Psalm 112, the Psalmist speaks of the person “who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments, ” verse one. Then, in verse seven, we read, “His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” The word “steadfast” means, “grounded solidly on God’s promises.” In 2 Corinthians 1:20, Paul speaks of “all the promises of God.” “Promises” here means, “to summons, to proclaim and announce, to undertake, to do, or give something.” God’s promises summon us to proclaim them as ours.
A. W. Tozer stated, “Always remember this, that God is always bigger than anything God can say, because words are inadequate to express God and what God can do. Any promise that God ever made, God has to over fulfill it. The reason being that God is so great, and His heart is so kind, and His desire is so intense and tremendous, that language doesn’t express it. Not the Greek, not the English, and no language expresses God – it can’t. If language could contain God, the language would be equal to God. So, everything God says in the Bible must be understood to be a little greater than what He says, even as God is greater than language.”
Joshua 23:14, “Not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled.” (NIV).
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
DISHONESTY
09/02/08
By David Arnold
The Los Angeles Times ran an article about widespread petty theft. In it, an attorney admitted that he would wait for someone to purchase a newspaper from a vending machine and grab the door before it closed to get his paper without paying. He could afford the paper, so why would he do such a thing? He explained, “The newspaper makes so much money, taking one paper won’t matter.”
Solomon wrote, “Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, ” Proverbs 11:1. “Dishonest scales” is literally “balances of deceit, ” and the word “abomination” implies an extraordinary degree of hatred and detestation. Charles Spurgeon told his church, “It is never to do a little wrong, to obtain the greatest possible good. Your duty is to do the right: consequences are with God; and after all it never can be, in the long run, a good thing either for you or for others to do wrong.”
Here are some dishonest practices condemned by the Bible. Using short weights and measures – Deuteronomy 25:13 – 15; Leviticus 19:35, 36. Cheating a seller – Proverbs 20:14. Refusing to pay wages – Jeremiah 22:13; Leviticus 19:13. Shifting landmarks – Job 24:2. Defrauding –Leviticus 6:2; 19:13. Borrowing without repaying – Psalm 37:21. Keith Miller spoke a word of concern when he stated, “It has never ceased to amaze me that we Christians have developed a kind of selective vision which allows us to be deeply and sincerely involved in worship and church activities, and yet almost totally pagan in the day in, day out guts of our business lives and never realize it.”
In Proverbs 20:23, we read that God “loathes all cheating and dishonesty” (TLB), and Paul wrote to Timothy about living a life of “honesty, ” 1 Timothy 2:2. Madison Sarratt taught mathematics at Vanderbilt University for many years. Before giving a test, he would admonish his students, “Today I am giving two examinations – one in trigonometry and the other in honesty. I hope you will pass them both. If you must fail one, fail trigonometry. There are many good people in the world who can’t pass trigonometry, but there are no good people in the world who cannot pass the examination of honesty.”
“No legacy is so rich as honesty” (William Shakespeare Emerson).
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
In Proverbs 10:12, we read, “Hatred stirs up strife.” The infamous 19th century feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys started with a fight over a razorback hog. The men who started this bitter hatred were William Hatfield and Randolph McCoy. The two families fought for nearly twenty years, and 12 were killed. Hatred is not always this blatant. It can be as subtle as a minor insult. However, once it starts, it can gradually damage and destroy families, churches, and lifelong relationships.
Hatred is forbidden. Leviticus 19:17, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart.” Colossians 3:8, “Put off…malice” (“malignity, ill-will, desire to injure, wickedness, depravity”). Edith Cavell, an English nurse in World War 1, helped more that two hundred English, French, and Belgian soldiers escape to England during the German occupation of Belgium. She was captured, court-martialed, and sentenced to death, as a spy, by the Germans. Just before her execution, she said to the English chaplain: “I have no fear of death. I willingly die for my country. But, standing as I do, viewing God and eternity, I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred toward anyone.”
Hatred is called “murder.” 1 John 3:15, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” Elmer Rivera arrived home from work to find a bomb under his bed. It was discovered that his wife and her boyfriend had planted the device, which, thankfully, never exploded. Detective Ray Schilke said, “Both defendants made it perfectly clear that their full intent was for Elmer to die.” (His wife) “didn’t see divorce as an option.” E. Stanley Jones remarked, “A rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so angry it will bite itself. That is exactly what the harboring of hate and resentment against others is,–a biting of oneself. We think we are harming others in holding these spites and hates, but the deeper harm is to ourselves.”
Hatred is a sign of a deceitful heart. Proverbs 26:24, 25 says, “He who hates, disguises it with his lips, and lays up deceit within himself. When he speaks kindly, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations within his heart.” Ahithophel, a wise counselor of King David, bitterly developed hatred towards his long-time friend David, because David had committed adultery with his granddaughter, Bathsheba (compare 2 Samuel 11:3 and 23:34). He harbored this hatred, refusing to forgive, and deceitfully sided with Absolom in a rebellion. Instead of accomplishing his deadly intentions, his hatred took his own life. Harry Rimmer said, “The only permanent pain and harm that can come to me from the offenses committed against me is the irreparable injury I do myself by hatred of those who wrong me!”
Hatred is living a lie. 1 John 4:20,21, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this is the commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
“No man is able to force me so low as to make me hate him!” (Booker T. Washington).
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
02/18/09
In Proverbs 10:12, we read, “Hatred stirs up strife.” The infamous 19th century feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys started with a fight over a razorback hog. The men who started this bitter hatred were William Hatfield and Randolph McCoy. The two families fought for nearly twenty years, and 12 were killed. Hatred is not always this blatant. It can be as subtle as a minor insult. However, once it starts, it can gradually damage and destroy families, churches, and lifelong relationships.
Hatred is forbidden. Leviticus 19:17, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart.” Colossians 3:8, “Put off…malice” (“malignity, ill-will, desire to injure, wickedness, depravity”). Edith Cavell, an English nurse in World War 1, helped more that two hundred English, French, and Belgian soldiers escape to England during the German occupation of Belgium. She was captured, court-martialed, and sentenced to death, as a spy, by the Germans. Just before her execution, she said to the English chaplain: “I have no fear of death. I willingly die for my country. But, standing as I do, viewing God and eternity, I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred toward anyone.”
Hatred is called “murder.” 1 John 3:15, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” Elmer Rivera arrived home from work to find a bomb under his bed. It was discovered that his wife and her boyfriend had planted the device, which, thankfully, never exploded. Detective Ray Schilke said, “Both defendants made it perfectly clear that their full intent was for Elmer to die.” (His wife) “didn’t see divorce as an option.” E. Stanley Jones remarked, “A rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so angry it will bite itself. That is exactly what the harboring of hate and resentment against others is,–a biting of oneself. We think we are harming others in holding these spites and hates, but the deeper harm is to ourselves.”
Hatred is a sign of a deceitful heart. Proverbs 26:24, 25 says, “He who hates, disguises it with his lips, and lays up deceit within himself. When he speaks kindly, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations within his heart.” Ahithophel, a wise counselor of King David, bitterly developed hatred towards his long-time friend David, because David had committed adultery with his granddaughter, Bathsheba (compare 2 Samuel 11:3 and 23:34). He harbored this hatred, refusing to forgive, and deceitfully sided with Absolom in a rebellion. Instead of accomplishing his deadly intentions, his hatred took his own life. Harry Rimmer said, “The only permanent pain and harm that can come to me from the offenses committed against me is the irreparable injury I do myself by hatred of those who wrong me!”
Hatred is living a lie. 1 John 4:20,21, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this is the commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
“No man is able to force me so low as to make me hate him!” (Booker T. Washington).
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
ANGER UNCONTROLLED”
02/10/09
BITTERNESS
08/25/08
By David Arnold
A mortician at Forest Lawn Cemetery in California told of a man who, many years ago, spent $ 200,000 on his own funeral. Having become bitter towards his estranged wife and children, he squandered all his money on his own burial and left them nothing. Because the casket and other expenses added up to only $ 100,000, he directed that the remaining $ 100,000 be spent on orchids! Sadly, only three people attended that memorial service. What a warped sense of value and waste of money. What a lesson to be learned from harboring a spirit of bitterness.
The writer to the Hebrews warned that “any root of bitterness springing up” can “cause trouble, and by this many are become defiled” (12:15). The words “root of bitterness” are used metaphorically, speaking of how bitterness produces bitter fruit. Helen Grace, writing of bitterness, stated, “It grows. It distorts reality. It keeps us chained to the past. Like bad air, it pollutes not just the bitter person, but those who come in contact with the person.”
Nothing is more counterproductive to the human spirit than bitterness and resentment. These two enemies of our lives have ruined people throughout history. Some go through life blaming their parents for their failures. Ministers have left their pulpits, and families have been destroyed because of resentment and bitterness being out of control. Pastor Dan Betzer wrote, “My friends in the medical profession tell me that bitterness often causes physical problems such as nervous disorders, heart disease, and ulcers. And mental problems such as paranoia have their seeds in bitterness.”
Bitterness corrodes the spirit. This was true of Judas Iscariot. Over time, he became so revengeful and bitter towards the Lord, that nothing could save him. Not even the sight of Jesus kneeling before him to wash his feet (John 13:5), and not even the final appeal of Jesus at the supper table (John 13:26). Sadly, his bitterness destroyed him (Matthew 27:5). Charles Buxton warned, “Bad temper is its own scourge. Few things are more bitter that to feel bitter. A man’s venom poisons himself more than his victim.”
Bitterness kills. Corrie Ten Boom, survivor of Ravensbruck, helped to establish hospitals in Holland to care for the sick who had come through Nazi concentration camps during World War 11. In her work, Miss Ten Boom observed a strange phenomenon. Those who refused to forgive the Germans for their cruelty declined in health, and a number of them died. However, those who chose to forgive their tormentors steadily improved, and eventually went home. FORGIVENESS HEALS.
Ephesians 4:31, “Let all bitterness…be put away from you.”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
Fear, most devastating enemy of human personality
08/12/08
By David Arnold
G. K. Chesterton, the British author, once said, “If I could preach only one sermon, it would be a sermon against fear.” One doctor observed that, “Fear is the most devastating enemy of human personality.” Scientist estimate that 50 million Americans suffer from one type of phobia or another. They have classified more than 500 fears that can send victims into a cold sweat, start hearts racing, or make them faint.
This is not “the fear of the Lord,” which is a phrase of Old Testament piety meaning “reverential trust with hatred of evil,” but a fear that is intimidating and a terror. The Apostle John put it this way, “Fear has torment, ” 1 John 4:18. The word for “torment” he used means, “to punish as in our prison system.” Psalm 73:19 tells us that fear can become so intense at times it is described as consuming. Ann Landers, the syndicated advice columnist, was at one time receiving ten thousand letters a month from people with all kinds of problems. When asked if there was one common denominator among all her correspondents, she said that the number one subject of her letters was fear. Fear of nearly everything imaginable, until the problem became so great that many had a fear of life itself.
God admonishes and promises in Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Max Lucado wrote, “Are you aware that the most repeated command from the lips of Jesus was, ‘Fear not’? Are you aware that the command from heaven not to be afraid appears in every book of the Bible? ” God told Abraham, “Do not be afraid.” God told Isaac, “Do not be afraid.” God told Jacob, “Do not be afraid.” God told Moses on three different occasions, “Do not be afraid.” Three times He told Joshua, “Do not be afraid.” On ten occasions Jesus told His disciples, “Do not be afraid.” Twice God told Paul, “Do not be afraid.” And the list goes on and on.
Henry Durbanville wrote about the gifted fourth-century preacher John Chrysostom: “Exiled from the position which he held as the greatest preacher of his age, this noble man refused to be intimidated. ‘What can I fear? ’ he asks. ‘Will it be death? But you know that Christ is my life, and that I shall gain by death. Will it be exile? But the earth and all its fullness are the Lord’s. Will it be loss of wealth? But we brought nothing into this world and can carry nothing out. Thus all the terrors of the world are contemptible in my eyes, and I smile at all its good things. Poverty I do not fear, riches I do not sigh for, and from death I do not shrink’.”
Someone stated, “Fear not tomorrow – God is already there!” While John was exiled on the island called Patmos, Christ declared to him, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last, ” Revelation 1:17. In effect He was saying, “I was here before there was anything to fear and I will be here after all things you fear have passed away.” Remember, He is the Alpha and Omega – and all the alphabet between! FEAR NOT.
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonlin.org
www.gulfcoastworshp.org
When God intends to fill a soul, He first makes it empty
HUMILITY
07/28/08
By David Arnold
An old godly writer named Flavel gave some wise words concerning humility, “When God intends to fill a soul, He first makes it empty; when He intends to enrich a soul, He first makes it poor; when He intends to exalt a soul, He first makes it sensible of its own miseries, wants, and nothingness.”
In 2 Corinthians 4:7, Paul wrote, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” The term “earthen vessels” is a reference to the pottery used in those days. It was very brittle, and a slight blow would break it into pieces. It was generally crude, unattractive, but very serviceable. Paul is saying that the “treasure” of the indwelling Spirit is “in clay pots.” Someone asked about Saint Francis of Assisi how he could accomplish so much. “This may be why, ” he said. “The Lord looked down from Heaven and questioned, ‘Where can I find the weakest, smallest, meanest man on earth?’ Then He saw me, and remarked, ‘I’ve found him; he won’t be proud of it; he’ll see that I am using him because of his insignificance’.”
Christ said of John the Baptist, “He was the burning and shining lamp.” The lamp of John’s day was a simple affair – an earthen container for oil, wick and flame. A lamp had no inherent light of its own. Also, it had to be carried by another. Further, he himself was neither oil nor the flame, only a wick. The wick is neither seen, nor noticed, until it fails to function satisfactorily. Its service is essentially a hidden one. It is the light which catches the eye. John Bunyan wrote:
“He that is down need fear no fall.
He that is low no pride;
He that is humble ever shall
Have God to be his guide.
In John 5:1, we read, “Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.” Arthur W. Pink remarks on this verse, “He ministered without ostentation. He never sought to be the popular idol of the hour, or the center of an admiring crowd. Instead of courting popularity, He shunned it. Instead of advertising Himself, He ‘received not honor from men’.” Winston Churchill was stopped by a woman and asked, “Doesn’t it thrill you, Mr. Churchill, that every time you make a speech, the entire hall is filled with people? ” “It is quite flattering, ” Churchill said, “but I always remember that if I was being hanged instead of making a speech, the crowd would be twice as big.”
1 Peter 5:5, “And be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida, 34654
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.org
AN ANXIOUS MIND
07/21/08
By David Arnold
Peter Marshal was a Scottish-American preacher. He became pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D. C. in 1937, and twice served as U. S. Senate Chaplain. On one occasion, he broke all precedent for prayer in the United States Senate by praying: “Help us to do our very best this day and be content with today’s troubles, so that we shall not borrow the troubles of tomorrow. Save us from the sin of worrying, lest stomach ulcers be the badge of our lack of faith. Amen.”
In Luke 12:29, Christ admonished, “Do not have an anxious mind.” The word for “anxious” means, “all up in the air about something, ” that suggests “hovering between hope and fear, restless.” Further, He stated in Matthew 6:25, “Stop perpetually worrying.” The word “worry” itself comes from an old German word which means “to choke.” Then, through the years, the term came to be used to denote“mental strangulation.” Maybe this is why John Wesley stated that he would just as soon swear as to worry.
Once when Martin Luther felt very despondent, he heard a bird singing its evening song. Then he saw it tuck its head under its wing and go to sleep. He remarked, “This little bird has had its supper and now is getting ready to go to sleep, quite content, never troubling itself as to what its food will be or where it will lodge on the morrow. Like David, it abides under the shadow of the Almighty. It sits on its little twig, content, and lets God care.”
In 1 Peter 5:7, we are told to “Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” The word “cast” means to throw something away or throw it onto something. The same word is used in Luke 19:35 for throwing garments on a colt in preparation for riding. It expresses a definite act of our will in committing to God our worries, giving them up to Him, and allowing Him to take responsibility. George Mueller reminds us, “The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.”
There is on record in an early Greek manuscript, the name of a man called Titedios Amerimnos. The first name is a proper name. The second name is made up of the word which means “to worry, ” with the Greek letter Alpha prefixed to it, which makes the word mean the opposite of what it formerly meant. It is thought that this man was a pagan Greek who perpetually worried, but who after being saved, stopped worrying. So he was called, “Titedios, The Man Who Never Worries.” Remember, when we put our cares in God’s hands, He puts His peace in our hearts.”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.org
MURMURING
07/13/08
By David Arnold
A grumpy rider on a Chicago city bus complained constantly during his ride. He complained about the constant stopping, the air conditioning, etc. As he was finally stepping off the bus, he stopped to scold the driver, making a terrible public scene. As the disagreeable passenger was leaving, a voice called out, “JUST a minute, you left something behind.”WHAT?” the ruffian demanded. “A very bad impression, a gentle old lady answered. The word translated “murmur” means to find fault or to complain. This is an evil which is forbidden in the Scriptures.
There are numerous illustrations of murmuring in the Bible. The Israelites started murmuring almost as soon as they had been delivered from Egypt (Exodus 14:11; 15:24). On many occasions, in their wilderness journeyings, they complained and found fault (Exodus 16:2; 17:2, 3; Numbers 11:1 – 4; 21:5). Murmuring has been described as tempting God (Exodus 17:2), and Scripture makes it very clear that it provokes God (Numbers 14:2 – 11). There are records of punishment for murmuring (Numbers 11; 14:27 – 29; 16:45, 46). The late world-wide radio evangelist, C. M. Ward, was correct when he warned, “God will not give an audience to a griper.”
In John 6:41, the Bible records, “The Jews complained about Him, because He said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven’.” Arthur Pink wrote, “These Jews were ‘murmuring,’ and it is a significant thing that the same word is used here as in the Septuagint (the first Gentile translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) of Israel murmuring in the wilderness. In few things does the depravity of the human heart reveal itself so plainly and so frequently as in murmuring against God. It is a sin which few, if any, are preserved from.”
In Psalm 144: 14 and 15 we read, “There should be no complaining in our streets…for happy are the people whose God is the Lord.” Rev. Richard Stephen, vicar of a church in Cheshire, England, reminded his congregation, “Our forefathers did without sugar until the 13th century, without coal fires until the 14th, without buttered bread until the 16th, tea or soup until the 17th, without gas, matches or electricity until the 19th, without cars, canned or frozen foods until the 20th. Now, what was it you were complaining about?”
Billy Graham wrote, “Some anonymous wise man said, ‘If Christians spent as much time praying as they do grumbling, they would soon have nothing to grumble about’.” “Do all things without complaining,” Philippians 2:14.
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.com
THE HONOR OF WANTING TO QUIT
By David Arnold
A young college student, in his freshman year, was struggling with a course in French. He was so discouraged that he wrote home to his parents expressing his temptation to drop out of school. His dad sent him a poster of a young man, around nineteen years of age, in his football uniform. He was sitting dejectedly at the far end of the bench, covered with mud, his hair disheveled, and his face buried in his hands. The caption reads, “I Quit.”
Elihu Root said, “Men do not fail; they give up trying.” Here are some thoughts about “The Honor Of Wanting To Quit, then some input on “How Not To Quit.”
First, the reasons for this title, “The Honor Of Wanting To Quit.”
1. Wanting to quit is a sign of success, because only successful people can quit.
2. The more you have to quit, the more you want to quit. Samuel Johnson declared, “Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.”
3. You can enjoy the luxury of wanting to quit if you know you’re not going to quit. Wanting to quit, and actually quitting are not the same.
4. Quitting is really changing. Sometimes we all need a change, but don’t quit on an unfinished task, calling it change.
Second, “How Not To Quit.”
1. Burn the bridges behind you. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “To reach the port of heaven we must sail, sometimes with the wind and sometimes against – but we must sail, not drift or lie at anchor.”
2. Don’t expose yourself to what you do not want to be. Ten years from now you will be what you read, view, and listen to via the media, and the people you associate with. Albert Einstein warned, “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
3. Don’t tell anyone you want to quit, when you want to quit (except for a close trusted friend, and, even then, be cautious).
4. Lock yourself in so you can’t quit. Have a fixed and determined spirit. Great people are just ordinary people who just don’t quit. Marylin vos Savant stated, “Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.”
Now, for the rest of the story. I began with the illustration about the poster showing a young football player, despondent and defeated, with the caption, “I Quit.” However, down on the bottom of the poster is a little picture of a black hill outside of Jerusalem, with a very crude cross, and next to it these words, “I didn’t!”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
www.gulfcoastworship.org
HAVE FAITH IN GOD”
By David Arnold
Hudson Taylor, who faced many impossible situations in his work in China, used to say that there were three phases in most great tasks undertaken for God:
“Impossible,
Difficult,
Done.”
In Mark 11:22, Jesus admonished, “Have faith in God.” It is the same word for “faith” we read of in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” One of the words the writer to the Hebrews uses to describe faith is “substance.” The Greek word is made up of the words “to stand” and “under.” It refers to that which stands under, that which is a foundation. Consequently, the meaning of the word indicates that faith is the foundation of things hoped for. It speaks of confidence or faith, which enables us to endure or undertake anything. Archeological evidence indicates that the word “substance” has also been used to indicate “title-deed.” In fact, this verse might be translated, “Now faith is the title-deed of things hoped for.”
St. Augustine stated, “Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.” Mother Theresa of Calcutta, India, had a dream. She told her superiors she had three pennies and a dream. They gently chided her and said, “Mother Theresa, you can’t do anything with three pennies.” Mother Theresa said, “I know, but with God and three pennies, I can do anything!” Years later, she was awarded the Noble Peace Prize for her work in Calcutta.
In Mark 9:23, we read the promise of Christ, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” “Believe” means “to be persuaded of, to place confidence, to trust, reliance upon, totally leaning on.” This speaks of total reliance on God. George Mueller, the founder of the Bristol Orphanage, was relating to a friend some of the difficulties he had to contend with, in providing the orphans with food, day by day, and when he had finished, his friend said to him, “You seem to live from hand to mouth!” “Yes,” said Mr. Mueller, “it is my mouth, but God’s hand.”
Doubt sees the obstacles,
Faith sees the way;
Doubt sees the darksome night,
Faith sees the day;
Doubt dreads to take the step,
Faith soars on high;
Doubt whispers, “Who believes?”
Faith says, “I”.
“HAVE FAITH IN GOD!”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.gulfcoastworship.com
* My book “Discipleship Manual,” can now be ordered as an “E-Book,” as well as a published copy. The “E-Book” can be downloaded within 2 – 3 minutes from anywhere in the world. Go to www.davidarnoldonline.org for more information. Thank you.
NEVER DOUBT IN THE DARK WHAT GOD TOLD YOU IN THE LIGHT”
By David Arnold
Charles Spurgeon declared, “I would sooner walk in the dark and hold hard to a promise of God, than to trust in the light of the brightest day that ever dawned.”
The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God, Isaiah 50:10. The word “trust” here means, to place ones hope in,” “to go to for refuge,” “to have confidence in.” Remember, “It is better to walk in the dark with God, that to go it alone in the light.”
F. B. Meyer stated, “The Oriental shepherd was always ahead of his sheep. He was in front. Any attempt upon them had to take him into account. Now God is down in front. He is in the tomorrows. It is tomorrow that fills men with dread. But God is there already, and all tomorrows of our life have to pass before Him before they can get to us.” A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize Psalm 23. She gave them a month to do so. One small boy was particularly excited about the challenge, but he just could not remember the Psalm. After much effort, he could barely get past the first verse. On the day when the youngsters were to recite the Psalm before the congregation, the little boy was extremely nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone, and proudly said, “The Lord is my shepherd and thats all I need to know!
When Peter stepped out of the boat to walk on the sea towards Christ, he began to sink, only to be rescued by the Lord. Jesus said to him, “Why did you doubt?Matthew 14:31. The root meaning of that word “doubt” is looking two ways at once. Peter had one eye on the Lord, and his other eye on the storm around him. When tempted to doubt, remind yourself that, A contradiction in our minds does not prove a contradiction in the Word.”
Jeremiah wrote in a dark hour, “Through the Lords mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’says my soul, therefore I hope in Him!” Lamentations 3:22 -24. When David Livingstone sailed for Africa the first time, a group of his friends accompanied him to the pier to wish him “Bon Voyage.” Some of them, concerned for his safety, reminded him of the dangers ahead. He was urged to remain in England. Livingstone, in response, opened his Bible, and read aloud from Matthew 28:20 the promise of Christ, “And lo,I am with you always, even to the ends of the age.” Turning to those who doubted, he said, “That, my friends, is the word of a Gentleman. So let us be going I know not where He leads me, but well do I know my Guide” (Martin Luther).
“NEVER DOUBT IN THE DARK WHAT GOD TOLD YOU IN THE LIGHT!”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
Friends,
Dietrick Bonhoeffer, in his book, “The Cost Of Discipleship,” stated, “Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” My book, “Discipleship Manual,” was written from over 30 years of research and ministry. It is written in the same style as my weekly articles, “60 Seconds.” Containing 107 pages, I have written on subjects such as “the Biblical principles of leadership and servanthood, how God speaks to a church to give it vision, who the Church is and it’s purpose, Biblical authority, etc.” I feel that it can be another valuable tool for pastor’s, churches, believers, etc. With the assistance of my publisher, Creation House, it is now available as an “E – Book,” and can be purchased and downloaded from anywhere in the world within 2 – 3 minutes.The cost is $7.99. We take the major credit cards. If interested, go to www.davidarnoldonline.org and follow easy directions. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
God bless you,
Dave Arnold
www.davidarnoldonline.org
A PRICELESS DIAMOND
BY David Arnold
According to the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, in the constellation Centaurus, there is a white dwarf star thats been discovered to have a 1,864 mile-wide core of diamond. Its been calculated to weigh 2.27 thousand trillion tons. Or, 10 billion, trillion, trillion carats – thats a 1 followed by 34 zeros!
The Bible, however, declares that there are four things of greater value than even a diamond of this magnitude. One is wisdom. Proverbs 8:11, “For wisdom is better than rubies. Another is a good name. Proverbs 22:1, A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.” The third is Gods ways. Psalm 19:10, “More to be desired are they than gold, yes, much fine gold.” The fourth is a virtuous wife and mother. Proverbs 31:10, “Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.” In the following verses, Solomon described her as a good wife (verses 11 and 12), a good woman (verses 13 – 27), and a good mother (verse 28).
A Spanish proverb says, “An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest.” Abraham Lincoln stated, “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” Rudyard Kipling wrote about how a mothers love transcends all known limits:
“If I were hanged on the highest hill,
I know whose love would follow me still.
If I were drowned in the deepest sea,
I know whose tears would come down to me.
If I were damned of body and soul,
I know whose prayers would make me whole.”
A Scout master noticed a young camper having trouble with his cooking equipment. Whats the matter son, he asked,did you forget something?”Yes, Sir,replied the boy, My mother.”
“HAPPY MOTHERS DAY,Sunday, May 11, 2008!
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
60 Seconds With Dave Arnold
INTEGRITY
Zig Ziglar stated, “The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity.” The word integrity means, “wholeness.” In mathematics, an integer is a number that is not divided into fractions. Thus, integrity means that a man is not divided in his heart or in his conduct.
The ancient Job said, “Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me,” Job 27:5. The word he used here for integrity means, “whole, upright, and fullness in measure.” In Psalm 26, David declared that he began in integrity, and will end in integrity. In verse one, he says, “I HAVE walked in my integrity,” and, concludes, “I WILL walk in my integrity.” He had learned that integrity must govern his life.
A study was done with over 40 executives, some of which had been fired, or forced to retire early, and others who had made it all the way to the top. All possessed extreme talent and remarkable strengths, yet flawed by one or more weakness. However, a closer study revealed that a certain type of flaw kept cropping up in a large number of them, and that one error, when committed, always led to their demise. The researchers called it “the unforgivable sin – betraying a trust.” Their lack of consistency and predictability built over time that says, “I will keep my word, and you can count on me,” is what ruined their careers.
Alan Simpson said, “If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.” John Bunyan, author of “Pilgrims Progress,” after being in Bedford jail for years because of religious convictions, was offered by the magistrate to be released if he would cease his preaching on freedom of religion. He replied, “I will let the moss grow off of my eyebrows before I make a slaughterhouse of my conscience or a butchery of my principles.” Chuck Swindoll reminds us, “Real integrity stays in place whether the test is adversity or prosperity.”
Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida
www.davidarnoldonline.org
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60 seconds with David Arnold-THE SIN OF INGRATITUDE
