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Bro. Otis Fisher
It's in the book of Ephesians. I want to finish this today, so we may run over a little bit. Cruel parents usually have bad children. Parents are called to correct, not to punish, but to correct their children.
Punishment is for revenge. To correct is from affectionate concern. Criminals are to be punished, not corrected or rehabilitated. The mind of a child is to be nourished with wholesome discipline and instruction.
Discipline may refer to the knowledge which is proper for the child, including elementary principles, rules of behavior. Instruction may imply that whatever is necessary to form the mind to regulate and purify their passions.
Verse 1, children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. How long are we a child of our parents? The first lesson anyone must learn is obedience to those in authority. Second Timothy 3 .1, this know also that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful and unholy.
Disobedience to parents is the last and lowest form of lawlessness to occur on the earth. Proverbs 13 .24, he that spareth his rod hateth his son, but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. This great country is in slavery today.
Barney told us years ago that we had the blacks in chains and they'll put us in chains. It's getting more and more like that. I've never known a man to prosper that did not love his mother. No child is called to obey any parent if he gives unreasonable or unscriptural commands.
Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment, with promise, that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
What in the world does provoke mean, Bill? Provoke not, a father's anger and wrath may incite the child to sin. The mind is to be nourished with wholesome discipline as the body is with proper food. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters, according to the flesh.
With fear and trembling and singleness of heart as unto Christ. I know a person that worked at a liquor store. They got saved, and they wanted to quit their job. They wanted to just walk off and leave it.
I said, you can't do that. You were there only by the will of God. He put you there. You're to stay until he moves you out. Well, she decided to do that, although she didn't like it. But sure enough, within a year, she was out working someplace else.
Do not try to change society. A man is not a Christian just because he's made a profession and he claims to be. If he is a Christian, it will show in his employment. One half of the Roman Empire at one time were slaves, 120 million.
No place do we find where Christianity, the Christian movement, attacked the evil of slavery, but rather reached down to slavery and lifted them up to Christ. Not with high service as men pleasers, but with the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart.
No matter where you are, no matter what the job may be, if it's legitimate, Christ saved you right there. He will move you. But in the meantime, we're to look to him for guidance. With good will, do in service as to the Lord and not to men.
When your boss is not in sight, don't go sit down. Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether it be bond or free. Whether this is of a person that's in a servitude position or in one that's a CEO of a company or a day laborer or what, that whatsoever good things any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord.
Whatever you do or want, give it away. As you masters do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening, knowing that your master also is in heaven, neither is there respect of persons with him. Never threaten anyone.
Do you hear me? Don't threaten anyone, even as a preacher. I've heard preachers say, this is your last chance. You may go out that door and never have another chance to be saved. Or God will punish you for that.
Or this has come upon you because you didn't listen to me. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. You need to be strong in mind and spirit. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Now, Verge, Verge, come get these. See that everybody gets one. I listed some things. This put on the armor of God. And I have listed there 42 things. Do only what you know to be right. If you don't know, don't do it.
Commit scripture to memory. Be strong in the Lord, mind, body, and spirit. Do nothing from doubt. Meditate on his word. Follow your good intuitions. Look for good in all events. Know that God's providence has sent this your way.
Know that God's providence has sent this your way, both good and bad. Know that all events please God. Know that we do not need to understand all things. We sometimes think we need to understand that.
Well, we're not going to understand everything. Do not limit God to your understanding. What's the danger of that, Bill? Yes. Know that all things we do, we do because we want to do. Do you understand that?
Does anybody understand that? Now, you may do something that you would prefer not to, but you do it, and you did it only because you wanted to, even though you didn't want to. Know that Satan is but a tool of God.
You understand that, Greg? Know that we are where God has placed us. Know that you cannot prohibit, speed up, or slow down God's history. Know that man was not here before God. You didn't come before God.
Know that this life is a school, and we shall graduate. Know that death stops only the body. Know that there is no cessation of time or life at the moment of death. Now, these things I speak not because of experience, simply from deduction of the word.
And that's in 2 Corinthians 5 .8. Know that man does not seek God, Romans 3 .11. Know that God calls his people one at a time, as it pleases him. He doesn't call the whole church full. Know that in and of himself, man can do nothing but sin.
Know that all things that are have come from God, not by God, but from God. Know that there are two seeds in the world, and God's the only one that knows those. Know that the only things that please God originate with God.
We fall down there a lot. You cannot originate a good thought and give it to God. If it's a good thought, it comes from him. Know if you do your very best, you do not make mistakes. If you do your very best, even if tomorrow you find out that there's a better way to do it, does not make today wrong.
It's when we do less than our best that we run into trouble. Know that the Lord will never leave you. Hebrews 13, 5. Know faith originates with God, not man. Know that others cannot make you feel guilty.
Know that only God can give and remove guilt. Know that we can be forgiven. Know that the Lord does not deal with our sin again. He's dealt with it once. Know that we must deal with our sins, and he does forgive when asked.
Know that you are not a sinner any longer. Let's be sure we understand that. You're not a sinner. So many people outside of this church, I hear people say, well, I'm just a sinner saved by grace. Well, you were a sinner, but you're not a sinner now.
Know that prayer changes you, not things. Know that God does all things for himself, and in the process, it's the best for us. Know that everything Jesus did while he was on earth was to please God the Father only.
Know God only loves only that which only has, only belonged, only to him, only forever. 42, God does not think. Now, come back to 612. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Now, we wrestle not against sin. Do we wrestle, Greg? Yes, sir. But it's not against the flesh. It's against principalities. What is that, David? Principalities. Right. Against powers. What power, David?
Against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. It's a spiritual war. We cannot win this fight. This fight is just what we need. We will, by going through it, amount to something.
Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand. After you have done all, after you've prepared yourself, done everything you know to do, just wait on God.
We need not attack the devil. He will do that. But we must be prepared and stand. We do not retreat. We wait on the Lord and watch him work. Exodus 14, 12, and 13. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of righteousness.
Stand, don't go and hide. Expose yourself and grow. He who runs and hides lives to die another day. And your feet shod with preparation the gospel of peace. What does that mean? Your feet shod. Clarence?
The gospel will prepare you. What? The gospel will prepare you for any situation. The situation came because of God. You think he'd send something to you that you could not handle? Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all of the fiery darts of the wicked.
Faith is a shield against all of Satan. Fiery darts. Verge, what do you think fiery darts mean? That's good. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. You have the sword of the Spirit in your hand. Supplication in the Spirit. This is not public or audible. Watch while you work to escape the influences of the wicked.
And for me, that utterance may be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. Each one of us should pray that very thing, that we would be bold enough to serve God.
Right where he's put us. Don't go out of your way looking for something. We must speak boldly and at the right time and keep quiet the rest of the time. For which I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak, but that ye also may know my affairs and how I do.
Tychus, a beloved brother, faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things. Now, this man was a pastor of the church at Ephesus. Make known. Each of us has something that will make our situation known to the right people.
We do not have to broadcast it all of our life. Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that you might know our affairs and that he might comfort your hearts. Peace be to the brethren and love with faith from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace be with them all that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. The grace of God comes only to those he loves. Now, I want to back up to these things that we know. I want to go through a list of armor that the typical soldier would have.
He'd have one spear. The head was made of bronze or iron with a long shaft of ash. Javelin. This was about the same as a spear, only lighter and could be thrown some distance. Sword. This was made like a knife, but larger, longer, and heavier for hand-to-hand combat.
An axe. The battle axe was somewhat like our double-bidded chopping axe. Mace. This was an iron club. The bow includes a quiver for the arrows. Sling. An instrument is in use of which the Hebrew and Greeks were very expert.
The Hebrews were taught from childhood how to use the sling. If a small boy, as soon as he's able to get around, started at a very early age, his mother is the one that teaches him the sling, and he must put a rock in a basket, depending on his strength, at some distance.
And the stronger the child was, the greater the distance. He didn't get to eat until he put it in there. This would cause expert pretty quick. While we wrestled, Paul turned two pages. Helmet. This is the offensive armor for offense.
There's two kinds of armor. One for offensive and one for defensive. Defensive and offensive. Paul refers to both. The defensive armor is a helmet. This is for the head. Chest or ridge on top, crest or ridge on top, often had some kind of ornament on it.
Girdle. This went about the loins and served the grace to hold the armor tight to the body and to support daggers, short swords, and such. If you lost your girdle, you lost everything, and your pants would fall down.
Breastplate. This is of two parts called wings. One covered the whole region of the thorax or breast. The other covered the back. Greaves or boots. These covered the shin or from the leg. They also covered the good.
They also covered the leg and were lace tight. Gauntlets. These were a kind of glove that protected the hand and arms to the elbow. Shield. These were usually round. They were sometimes made of wood, covered with the hide of bulls, were often made of metal.
The giron, a small square shield, was used by the Persians. All right, that finishes our book of Ephesians. Anyone have anything they'd like to check in Chapter 6? Go to Colossians next week. That's an exciting book.
If there's nothing else, Greg, would you dismiss us, please?