Moriah Primitive Baptist Church

Madison County, Georgia

Servant Leaders

July 1, 2010 

The head of every woman is the man.  The husband is the head of the wife (1Co 11:3, Eph 5:23).   Today, the word head brings up connotations of an authoritarian, boss, ruler, or dictator (lording leader).  But 2000 years ago, head conveyed the notion of responsible for, developer of, protector and provider (servant leader).  Review the leadership styles listed below.  Consider which men were most effective, most God honoring …   the lording leaders or the servant leaders?

1. Pastors:  Gaius served, Diotrophes lorded (3Jo 5-10)
2. Patriarchs:  Abraham offered, Laban manipulated (Gen 13:8-9, 31:7)
3. Generals:  Gideon appeased, Jephthah retaliated (Jdg 8:1-3, 12:1-3)
4. Moguls:  Boaz shared, Nabal hoarded (Ruth 2:11, 1Sa 25:10)
5. Politicians:  Nehemiah delegated, Moses micro-managed (Neh 8:9, Ex 18:17-18)
6. Kings:  David heeded advise, Saul was angered by it (2Ki 19:7-8, 1Sa 20:32-33)

 Notice the testosterone filled, knuckle dragging, he-men were incredibly ineffective.   Now I ask, Which leadership style describes the manner we lead our wives and children?  Lord, help us be servant leaders.

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A Red Herring

July 8, 2010 

While training dogs to track foxes, English hunters would release a fox.  But before releasing the dogs, hunters would drag a dead herring across the fox’s trail (the fox scent - the stem of a lower case t, the herring scent - crossing the stem).  Dogs would follow the fox’s scent until they hit the herring’s scent.  Untrained dogs would turn right and pursue the wrong scent.  The goal was to teach dogs to stay the course, to avoid being sidetracked by irrelevant scents.

Logicians use red herring to describe being sidetracked by irrelevant information.  An untrained thinker follows a thought until he hits irrelevant information, turns right, does not address the question at hand.  The Pharisees drug a herring across one of Jesus’ miracles, but the healed man recognized the dead fish and stayed the course (John 9:25).  The issue was healing, not the healer’s condition.

 Do red herrings sidetrack us?  I challenge the reader to find the red herring in the following: 

1)      We can’t do it that way because Denomination X does it that that way; or

2)      The KJV is not God’s word because King James was a scoundrel.

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A Parting Message

July 15, 2010

 For the past year our church was blessed with a visitor from the Republic of Georgia, of the former Soviet Union.  Natia was a foreign exchange student who lived with church members.  While here, she attended nearly every Sunday service.   I thought about her before her last Sunday with us.  I wondered what she had learned from our services, if she would attend anything resembling a Primitive Baptist service ever again, and an appropriate parting message to her.  Here is what I tried to preach:

God has an incredible love for you, and that love was manifested in Jesus.  Because of that love, He told Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and David He would not forsake them.  God has made the same promise to you (Heb 13:5-6).  In other words:  Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough, ain’t no ocean wide enough to keep Him from getting to you (Rom 8:39).  And the Bible is the ongoing tale of that love, so keep reading.

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Make it Plain - part 1

July 22, 2010 

How does God give direction to folks making really hard decisions?  Scripture, godly counsel, sermons; but what about signs?  May we ask for signs on this side of the cross?

Context, Context, Context!   I am not talking about:  Should I marry this unbeliever?  Dad says no, Mom says no, the preacher says no; but I love him.  Lord, give me a sign if I should marry him/her.  Including scripture, I figure God has already given this person four signs.  What we are talking about is:  Should I accept the pastorate of  Church XYZ?  Or, which local job offer should I accept?  Decisions such as these can be very hard.  May we ask God to make our choice plain?  Plenty of O.T. folks asked for signs (Gen 24:12-14, Jdg 6:33-40, 2Ki 20:1-7), may we?

 We know Jesus was harsh with several Jews who asked for signs (Luke 11:29, John 4:48).  We don’t want to fall into this lack of faith (1Co 1:22).  Scripture also warns us about liars who sign (Ex 7:22, Matt 24:24).  Nor do we want to be tricked by Satan (2Th 2:9).  Yet, not all signs are evil (Heb 2:4, Rom 15:19, Act 2:22, 43).  So, may we ask for signs?  And if so, when may we ask for these signs?  Continued next week …

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Make it Plain - part 2

July 29, 2010

 N.T. believers may confidently ask for wisdom and the Holy Ghost (Jam 1:5, Luke 11:13).  However, is God limited to a small voice within, a Bible falling open to the right page, or a timely sermon?  Certainly God uses these things, but I don’t believe He is limited to these things.

 May we ask for signs on this side of the cross?  I believe so, when we stick to the following principles:

1. We ask according to His will (1Jo 5:14-15)  -  For instance:  Lord, I am willing to preach your gospel.  I am willing to quit my job and move anywhere you tell me.  I want to serve you, but I don’t know where.  Would you make it plain?  God granted this writer this very request.
2. We seek His glory (John 14:13-14)  -  For instance:  Lord, I know I am to provide for my family, physically and spiritually.  One of the jobs I’ve been offered pays much more, but show me which job will glorify You most in my family.  Once again, God granted this writer this very request.  He provided an incredible sign.
3. We desire long term, spiritual service  (John 16:23-24)  -  For instance:  Our meeting house is getting old, the neighborhood is changing, or the demographics of our members has changed.  Should we restore, move, build, borrow, serve this community or another?  God, we want to serve you but don’t know how.   Please make it plain?

No doubt, some decisions are very hard.  God knows our state of mind, and heart.  When we have an earnest desire to serve Him, I believe He is incredibly kind and merciful.  He has given me numerous signs (green lights as I have come to call them).  But never forget, His signs will never contradict His word – so keep reading and studying.

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The Doctrine of Death

8/4/2010

You probably have never heard of The Doctrine of Death.  To be honest, I made up the term, but not the concept.   The Doctrine of Death is my attempt to describe the Bible-based teaching that:  death is not only the penalty for sin (Rom 6:23) but also the result of sin (Rom 5:12).  In other words, nothing died or aged before Adam sinned.  Before Adam fell:

 The first living organism to die came after sin, to cover sin (Gen 3:21).  Think about it this way:  If scripture’s description of a six day creation is figurative, then Roman 5’s cause of death is figurative.  If the cause of death is figurative, then Roman 5’s cure for death must be figurative (v. 17-19).  Scripture is like a string of dominos, knock over the first chapter and others topple.  To reject a literal six day creation is to reject both the cause and cure for death (1Co 15:21, 55-57).  Read each reference cited above and think about the ramifications of denying The Doctrine of Death.

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Be Swift to Hear

8/11/2010

Let every man be swift to hear and slow to speak … (Jam 1:19).  I have come to believe the majority of communication problems are the result of poor listening.  Can a person answer or correct a matter he/she has misunderstood?  Can a person respond or give profitable advice before processing all the facts?   No way!

 Consider a few of God’s sayings with respect to listening [and my application of those sayings]:

1. It is a shame to answer a matter before hearing it (Pr 18:13, 29:20).  Do not predict what the other person is going to say.
2. Be more ready to hear than to speak (Ecc 5:1-2).   Listen even to those things we don’t particularly want to hear.
3. Judge no man before hearing him (John 7:51).  Do not prepare a rebuttal while the other person is speaking.
4. Enquire, search, ask diligently, make sure, be certain (Deut 13:14).  Know the other person understands what he/she means better than you do.
5. Listen like we want to be listened to (Jam 2:8).  Listen with good body language [eyes, hands, posture, countenance].

 Funny thing about communicating, I never met a man who learned anything while speaking.  May we be swift to hear.

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A Tomato Plant & Kudzu

8/19/2010

Romans 7:14-24 reads like nonsense unless one understands scripture is talking about the two natures which dwell in every born again, child of God.  Scripture refers to these two natures as:  flesh & spirit (Rom 8:5), old man & new man (Col 3:9-10), inward man & outward man (2Co 4:16), and creature & vanity (Rom 8:20).  However, I found tomato plants and kudzu effective when teaching the dual nature of a born again saint.  Here’s the illustration:

 Inside each of us are two plants, a tomato plant and a kudzu vine.  Each day we ought to feed and water our tomato plant with hopes of bringing forth good fruit, and each day we ought to whack off each new sprig of kudzu with a machete.  This work must be performed daily (Rom 8:13).  Consider what happens when we play hooky for a day, an hour (1Co 15:30-31)?  The kudzu latches onto the tomato plant and sucks the life out of it.  To do nothing, is to lose.

 So is the case with our two natures.  Each day we must feed and water our spirit with prayer and God’s word with hopes of bringing forth good fruit (Gal 5:22-23), and each day we must crucify the flesh (Gal 5:24-25).  Play hooky and the flesh wins.  Lord, help us in our husbandry.

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Interconnected & Interwoven

8/26/2010

 Consider the interconnectedness of The Ten Commandments (Ex 20:3-17).  Is it possible to break one and only one commandment?  I think not, for:

 ·         Forsaking the Sabbath (#5) is stealing (#8)

·         Stealing (#8) is preceded by coveting (#10)

·         Coveting (#10) is a type of idolatry (#1)

·         An adulterer (#7) has stolen (#8) and coveted (#10)

·         One who bears false witness (#9) takes God’s name in vain (#3)

·         Graven images (#2) are often spiritual adultery (#7)

·         Neglecting parents (#4) is cousin to murder (#6)

 Now, let us consider Jesus’ six “but I says” (Matt 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44).  Jesus was contrasting the spirit of the law with the letter of the law.  Jesus’ focus was the sinner’s heart.  When one considers the heart of a sinner and that scripture is interwoven, we understand it is impossible to break the least of God’s commandments (Matt 5:19).  We break the whole law when we offend one point (Jam 2:10).

Think yourself righteous?   Kind of righteous?  More righteous than the guy in the next pew?  Take another look, for each of us are guilty of breaking the whole law.  There was only one righteous and His name was and is Jesus.

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Four Boys go to College

September 1, 2010

 Do you recognize this “modernized” chapter of the Bible?   Harvard University told its top recruiter to award full ride scholarships to four, high achieving Primitive Baptists.  Harvard told its recruiter to look for high school graduates with the following characteristics:  1) healthy, athletic & outgoing;  2) an SAT score of at least 1400;  3) a strong aptitude for science & language;  and 4) community service experience.  The four Primitive Baptists selected moved into a dorm and attended their classes.  During their education, the four avoided bars and frat parties, and kept themselves spiritually pure.  They continually looked to God and each other for strength, as they withstood peer pressure.  God blessed the four not only to gain the respect of their dean, professors, and RA’s; but to finish at the top of their class.  Intelligence and integrity described these four, and they received ten times more job offers than their classmates.   Sound familiar?   If not, read the traditional version below.

 King Nebuchadnezzar told Ashpenaz to seek out high achieving Jews.  The King told his prince to look for teenagers with the following characteristics:  1) well favored & blemish-free;  2) skillful in wisdom & cunning in knowledge;  3) understanding science & an aptitude to learn Chaldean;  and 4) the propensity to serve.  Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah were selected.  They moved into a dorm and attended classes.  During their education, the four avoided pagan meat & drink, and kept themselves spiritually pure.  They continually looked to God and each other for strength, as they withstood political pressure.  God blessed the four not only to gain the respect of Nebuchadnezzar, Ashpenaz & Melzar, but to finish at the top of their class.  Intelligence and integrity described these four, and the four’s counsel was sought ten times more often than their classmates (Dan 1:1-21).  Young people:   The cream always rises to the top.   So, Rise!

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Scientist/Preachers

September 8, 2010

 Above and beyond being scientists, fathers, and revolutionaries in their fields; guess what the following men had in common:

 Each of these men were theologians.  That’s right, each were known to fill a pulpit.  Today, we are led to believe science and the Bible contradict one another.  Not so!  These leaders in physics, chemistry, and biology used scripture as their launching pad for research and investigation.  How can that be?  They viewed scripture as the cornerstone of truth (Pr 1:7).  

 How is it today that Yale, Princeton, and so many other universities scoff at the churches which founded them?  We’ve become full of ourselves.  We’ve become smarter than God.  Young people, don’t check your Bibles at the door when you enter a class room.  God is still the cornerstone of all truth (Rom 3:4).  Try not only theological spirits, both try scientific, behavioral, social, economic, archeological, and moral spirits as well (1Jo 4:1).

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It Takes At Least Four to Pray

9/15/2010

 All three persons in the Godhead are intimately involved each time we pray.  Therefore, it takes at least four to pray:  the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the saint.  We pray:

1. To the Father  -  your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask (Matt 6:8, 32).  Eight billion people on this planet and He knows the needs of every one.
2. In Jesus’ name  -  whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you (John 15:16, 16:23-26).  No need for introductions.  He’s made all the arrangements.  It like saying, Jesus sent me.
3. Through the Holy Spirit  -  the Spirit maketh intercession for us (Rom 8:26-37).  He asks for what I am too ignorant to ask.  I just hope He doesn’t laugh too hard (or cry) at the things I ask.

 What a privilege, what awesome resources, and what a blessing.  With all this going for us, why don’t we pray like we ought?   … Make that, why don’t I pray like I ought?

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The Mathematics of Marriage

September 22, 2010

When it comes to marriage, scripture calculates numbers differently than standard math.  In marriage:  one plus one equals one, and one plus one equals three; however, one plus one ought never equal two.  Consider:

 The two equations and the inequality above are the mathematical building blocks to a successful marriage.  How’s your addition?    Warning:  For use in marriage only.  Do not apply this math to your check book.

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I Surrender All

September 26, 2010

 In the beginning of 1Samuel 1, we find Hannah physically and emotionally bankrupt.  These verses describe her as having a grieved heart, bitterness of soul, constant weeping, and unable to eat or sleep.  Then, in the beginning of 1Samuel 2, we read a prayer offered by Hannah which is second to none in all of scripture.  These verses describe the joy she has in God’s salvation, peace in His sovereignty, and comfort in His compassion.  What caused her turn around?  Surrender made the difference. 

 Hannah found peace after she surrendered to God that which caused her grief.  Not only did Hannah turn over her barren womb to the Lord, but she turned over the fruit of her womb as well.  We might presume Hannah got to a place where a child, even for a few years, gave her relief.  I don’t believe that’s what turned Hannah around.  Total surrender to God was the source of Hannah’s peace and joy.

 Typically we think surrender makes people dependent, and that is a scary place for many folks.  But dependence on God shouldn’t scare us.  Look at it this way:  Would you rather be dependent on God or dependent on yourself?  Husband, sacrifice, nor self brought Hannah relief; but total surrender to God did - and that is what caused Hannah’s turn around.  If her, maybe you.

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All Articles Written by Elder Dolph Painter, Moriah Primitive Baptist Church

pastordolph@aol.com

This site created by Steve McCannon. This page last updated 07/04/2011