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Bro. Otis Fisher
I want you to listen to me real close this morning, especially as we begin. How does one talk with God? Dennis? Yes. I'm just asking you, how do we talk to Him? All right. How do you pray?
Yes. All right.
David, how do we pray in the Spirit? All right. So we pray in our hearts silently. Does God hear the words that we speak, Joy? Now, you're lumping two things together. Does He hear the words as I speak them?
I wouldn't give up, would I? Well, the answer is no, just simply no. Well, He does, but He doesn't hear the words that you speak. Well, He does that. He hears the Holy Spirit. Now, remember God the Father, Jesus Christ the Lord, and the Holy Spirit.
What if you don't have the Holy Spirit, Russell? That's right. What? No. All right. Prayer. No prayer is heard by God unless it starts with Him. We're told we don't know how to pray. I'm convinced that we don't.
It starts with Him given to us. We respond in like manner. The Holy Spirit carries it through Jesus the Christ to the Father. I have found in my 80 years that most prayers in public in church are for other people to hear.
That's wrong. We pray to God through the name of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. Have you got that? Now, many times we don't think of all of this. We just pray to God, but that's still what's going on.
All right. We come to the lesson. Let me make a statement first. Joy depends upon sorrow. Belief requires unbelief. Death demands life. Think about it. Joy depends upon sorrow. Belief requires unbelief.
Death demands life. First verse. Him that is weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. Now, he that is weak in the faith. Greg, is his faith weak? All right. It's him that's weak.
Now, what does it mean, Greg? But not to doubtful disputations. All right. Is that it? Doubtful. David, can you help us any here? All right. All right. Don't. Never put your brother in a position that would lead him to sin.
All spiritual weakness is from unbelief. It's far better to deny ourself than to cause a weaker brother to sin. You can't say, well, that's his problem because it's your problem. Two. For one believeth that he may eat all things.
Another, who is weak, eateth herbs. The herbs means vegetarian. One thinks he can eat anything, any kind of meat, any place, anytime, anywhere. I asked Greg to open to 1 Corinthians 10, 25 through 31.
So, I'll ask him now to read that. Russell, what does shambles mean? Shambles. As it's used in that first verse that Greg read, 10, 25. 1 Corinthians 10, 25. Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, eat. Sold in the shambles.
You're right. The idol worshippers offered the meat to the idols and they'd take it downtown and sell it to people that would buy it. Shambles is a meat market. Open meat market. So, we find that we are not to doubt him.
We are not to find fault with the brethren that do not eat or that do eat. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not, and let no man which eateth not judge him that eateth. Now, why, David? The last part of the third verse, God hath received him.
God has received everybody, the state they're in. He received us from Christ, by the way. God has taken him into his church without making conditions concerning meats. So, we have no grounds. Hence, you have no right to reject him.
For, who art thou, talking of the weak brethren, that judgest another man's servant to his own master, he standeth or falleth? Yea, he shall be holding up, for God is able to make him to stand. Now, he's using the weak brethren as one that just eats herbs and hasn't progressed far enough to eat everything else.
One man esteemeth one day above another. Another esteemeth every day alike. Let that man be fully persuaded in his own mind. Now, one man esteemeth one day above another. What is it that they're saying, David?
That's right. You should do only those things to which you can give yourself fully and without reserve. So, people actually are at times committing sin by doing church work. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord.
And he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks. And he that eateth not to the Lord, he eateth not and giveth God thanks.
Both of them are the same life. For none of us liveth by himself, and no man dieth to himself. Dennis, what does that seventh verse mean? That's absolutely true. It is impossible for a person to live without affecting others.
Our entire life belongs to God and the Lord. Dennis, did you realize that the great-great-grandmother of Columbus made a decision one day that affected you? The decision, what? Yes. The decisions that we make, every one of them, affects someone else.
Those closest to you the most. Those most remote, to the lesser degree. But every decision you make will affect others. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord. And whether we die, we die unto the Lord.
Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. Now, Greg, we're in this life. We live a certain amount of years. It comes to an end. It will always come to an end, either if the Lord comes back or if he doesn't.
Life will come to an end. But it makes absolutely no difference to God whether you're alive or not. You're his. Christians must act and live at all times according to the will of God, not by their own will.
We die when and how by the will of God. For to this end, Christ both died and rose and revived. What's the word revive mean, David? That's right, he lives. No other religion can say that. For to this end, Christ both died and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living.
Now, I asked you a question some time ago, is God the God of the dead or those that are alive? Well, God is not the God of the dead. Yet God is the God of those that are either dead or alive. But why doest thou, weak brother, judge thy brother?
Or why doest thou set at naught thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Lots of times, there'll be someone in church that doesn't do a certain thing. And they condemn all the others in the church for not doing it.
We cannot dictate to others their lifestyle. If we had but a believing belief regarding the judgment of the great day, it would silence all of our rational statements. A believing belief. Our little minds cannot determine who is saved and who is not saved.
David, can you? Oh, you can. So if we show hate against the sinner instead of the sin, we condemn ourselves. For it is written, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God.
Joy, what does that mean? All right, Russell, what does it mean, every knee? It simply means both of them. And every knee is everybody. So those that do not claim Him, say there is no God, one day they will.
For He shall have allegiance from everyone. Yes, that's right. So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. Now, right off the top of your head, David, what does that verse not say?
That's right. Absolutely. It does not say others. It says you. Let us not, therefore, judge one another any more. But judge this, rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself. But to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Now, how can that be? Russell, explain a little bit to me.
How can it be that you look at something and for you to use it, it's not a sin, but for me to use it, it's a sin? Where's the difference? All right, so stop directing the pathway of others. It is by the Holy Spirit that any of us can be directed.
Fifteen. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably, destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died. Treat everybody as the Lord has treated you. Did he save you, Greg?
Bet not then your good be evil spoken of. Now, here's something to think about, Joy. If we do good, when we could have done better, the good that we did becomes sin. Do you understand? All right, you may have done the very best that you know how to do, so to you, you did not sin.
Even if the doing of it informed you to a better way of doing it. Now, if the next time that it comes up and you do it the old way, it's sin because you know there's a better way. So we must do it again.
You best do it the better way, and that applies to everything. Tie on your shoes. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The kingdom of God.
First of all, David, what is kingdom? What does that mean? It means his lordship, his rulership, his sovereignty, authority. For he that is, that in these things serveth Christ, is acceptable to God and approved of men.
For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and appointed, approved of men. Each one of us must work within the light that God has given us. Not the light that he gave David, or Russell, or Greg, or Joy, or B.
Because you have a light. You have an understanding. The Holy Spirit has brought you to this point. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace and things wherewith one may edify another.
Greg, what's the word edify mean? All right. For meat destroyeth not the work of God. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense. What's the last part of that verse mean, David?
Yes. It sure is. Is it a sin for you to violate your conscience? Is that right, Dennis? Is that right, Greg? Is that right, David? Then I must be right. Yes, it is sin for you to violate your conscience.
It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
Now, I see why it's so hard for people that are not saved to understand the word. They'd read that, and they wouldn't be able to understand anything about it. What does the 22nd verse, what is it telling us, David?
That's right. Yes, they surely would. Yes, they would. Until they slow down and look at each word. And most people don't do that. I'm proud to say this class does. But you're unusual. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith.
For whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Dennis, whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Can you give me an example? That's true. David, can we expand this into something other than eating? I would that everybody, not just you but everybody else, would live as being I do.
But thank goodness you don't. Yes. No. It's not of faith for me to try to make you live like we do. It must be understood, though man's judgments and opinions may make that which is good in itself to become sinful to them, yet they cannot make that which is in itself evil to become good in them.
Russell, turn to Philippians 2, 13 through 24, please. Well, let me see. 13, 14, and 15. And the next verse. The key word there, it is for it is God which works in you. He does not work outside of you and you be involved.
He works in you from the inside out. First Corinthians 8, 9. But take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak. For if any man seeth thee which hast knowledge, set it meet in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered unto idols?
So if you know someone, and please notice it says idol's temple, you went into the temple and you ate. But if someone saw you and it affected him, then don't do it. And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died.
But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. All sin is against the heavenly Father through Christ. I cannot sin against David. I can wrong him, but the sin belongs to God.
Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. Is it permissible for us to eat in an idol's temple? You sure? For if any man see thee which hast knowledge, set it meet in the idol's temple.
First Corinthians 8, 10. Now I grant you we haven't had much experience in that area. But if a person see you going into the wrong kind of place, it'll offend him. And you're to not do it if you know.
Yes. It is possible and permissible as long as you can do it without offending a weaker brother. If you can do that, that's fine. Or your own conscience. Well, say it was all right with your conscience to go and do this.
If it offended a weaker one. Now, not just while you're in there, but if he hears about it. Years later. So, we better not go. Yes, yes. I have a story about a bell telephone man. He just died recently.
Ninety-some years old. But he told me that back when he was working for the telephone company that there was an annual event that they were required to be at. Me too. And he said he didn't want to go because everybody always drank.
So, he went, but he got him a Coke. And he'd walk around holding that Coke. Well, he didn't think anything about it. He just wasn't participating in the other. There was another young man that saw Mac do this.
And he saw him do it the next year. And he told his wife, if Mac can do that, I can too. So, he today, or was, he may be dead now, was a deacon in a Baptist church. I know that doesn't mean much anymore.
But he turned his life around. He got right with God. And he became a Christian because Mac drank a Coke. So, you see, we never know when some little thing affects others. Greg, dismiss us please.