AN IMPERFECT HEART

AN IMPERFECT HEART!

1 Kings 11:3-4

3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord  his God, as was the heart of David his father.

           I’m not a math genius, but 700 and 300 equals a thousand women! Why would any man, dumb or smart, need that many women? Well, most of them were political marriages. A king wouldn’t go to war with his son-in-law would he?  In that, Solomon was wise. But his wives bent his heart toward idolatry. In that, Solomon was dumb.

           Merriam-Webster defines “compromise” as “a way of reaching agreement in which each person or group gives up something that was wanted in order to end an argument or dispute.” Dr. Charles Stanley says compromise is “to make concessions in order to gain something.” But compromise has a more sinister definition when you look at the Bible.

           In verse 4 we see that Solomon had made so many deals with enemies that “his heart was not perfect [or loyal] with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.” In verse 5 he goes after Ashtoreth. Ashtoreth was the fertility goddess consort of Molech. Ashtoreth is mentioned three times in the Scriptures (1st Kings 11:5, 11:33 and 2nd Kings 23:13).

           Compromise takes on a new dimension in our modern culture. We do not actually worship the images of idolatry but that doesn’t mean we are not idolaters. We generally idolize self. We call sin by a different name trying to rip the teeth from God’s commandments and minimize any punishment or consequence for breaking His laws. We praise tolerance and condemn those who condemn sin. We claim to worship God but our heart “is not perfect – or loyal” to Him.

1 John 1:8-9

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Ps 119:2

2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.

Dear Lord, make my heart perfect before Thee. AMEN

KEEP IT UP BUDDY

KEEP IT UP BUDDY!

2 Kings 13:22-23

22 But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

23 And the Lord  was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.

           My Momma had a unique way of warning me to stop my wrongful behavior. She would raise one eyebrow (a talent I inherited) and squint with the other eye while saying firmly: “Keep it up buddy.” This is, of course, was not meant to allow me to actually continue the behavior. It meant that if I didn’t stop quickly judgment would surely fall.

           In our Scripture, this morning, there seems to be a thinly veiled warning. Things were not good but, because God had made a covenant with the patriarchs, He would not destroy them – as yet! In other words God had raised one eyebrow, squinted with the other eye menacingly, and warned “keep it up buddy!”

           Warren Wiersbe explains that “when the people sinned so flagrantly that they blasphemed the name of the Lord and defiled His land that God permitted both Israel and Judah to be defeated and taken into bondage. In 722, Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, and in 586, Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians.”

           When those who call themselves Christians change the name and nature of sin to make it acceptable, I think God begins to raise one holy eyebrow as if to say “Keep it up buddy!”

Col 3:5-6

5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

Dear Lord, in wrath remember mercy. Revive us again. AMEN

TWO ATTITIUDES TOWARD SIN

TWO ATTITUDES TOWARD SIN?

Prov 30:20

20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

Rom 7:22-25

22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

           Paul gives a tormented explanation of the inner struggle of the two natures of the saved man. On the one hand, he is still a fallen creature and the old sinful nature wars for dominance. On the other hand, he now has a new nature given to him by the infusion of the Holy Spirit at the time of his conversion. These two natures, or attitudes, remain in conflict throughout life.

           Paul uses the Greek word talaiporos, which literally means “miserable,” to describe the wretchedness of his struggle. He delights to do what is right. He enjoys agreeing with God in principle and in daily practice but he is constantly being challenged by the law of sin. One law seeks to liberate him and the other seeks his captivity.

           Many people use the device used by the adulterous woman in Proverbs 30:20. They sin and then simply claim that nothing wicked has been done. That is called denial and eventually it makes one’s conscience insensitive. “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Tim 4:2). In this case the sin remains but the sorrow because of it has departed.

           Sin is self-centeredness! Bill Temple puts it this way in his little book, Christianity in the Social Order, He says, "I am the center of the world I see. And where the horizon is depends on where I stand. Education may make my self-centeredness less disastrous by broadening my horizon of vision. It's like a man climbing a tower who sees further in terms of physical vision while remaining himself the center and the standard of reference. I am the center of the world I see." But God's order is that we love him with all our being, and then that we love our neighbor and put ourselves last. Sin is the reversal of that order.

           You are a sinner and so am I. How we “feel” about our sin reveals our relationship to God. Be very careful that you do not lose the “wretchedness” that sin produces.

Dear Lord, every day I struggle with sin. I can never lessen my vigilance against it. It is troublesome. It grieves me. May I always agree with You regarding sin. Cleanse me. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. AMEN