Pilgrim Ethics - Speech, Business, and Church Life

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. Greetings, this beautiful morning in the name of Jesus Christ. It's a beautiful morning if our hearts are full of response to Jesus Christ. Then it doesn't matter whether it's cloudy outside or the sun is shining or everything is going well in our life or not. [00:00:36] I said this morning, again like we always do, I greet you in the name of Jesus. I think we always do. Nearly always we do that. That's how we end our prayers. Do you remember hearing anyone closing his prayer without using that phrase? In the name of Jesus, Amen. So, I thought I'd just share a little bit about the name of Jesus before I go on into what I really want to say this morning. Because I think it's so at the heart of our Christian life [00:01:11] And after all, to me, that's the most important thing in our whole Anything that we have to talk about The heart of the Christian life My relationship with Jesus Christ If my relationship with Jesus Christ is not real and meaningful And to such an extent that it drowns out all the other desires and cares and things in life I'm missing out. Amen. I am. It's so important. If somehow the idea of eternity would grip every one of our hearts, it would change our life. [00:01:55] I believe every one of us, including me, I think about it a lot, but it's impossible for me to really get a hold on the truth and the reality of eternity. I can't get done when I think about it. Everyone is going to be in one place or the other forever. I wasn't going to say that this morning. I'm saving that for this evening. Now you know what to pray for. But it's so important. It's so important. [00:02:27] You know what it means to be something in the name of Jesus? Are we here together in the name of Jesus? When we pray our prayers, is that prayer truly in the name of Jesus? It does not make a prayer to be in the name of Jesus because I close my prayer with those words. That does not make it so. And I can close my prayer without adding the words in the name of Jesus and my prayer can still be in the name of Jesus. [00:03:03] I've tried to get some definition, some meaning as I've studied on prayer at Bible school, What does it mean in the name of Jesus? And I found that the meaning under it, the Greek meaning, the original meaning of the name is the character and authority. So when we're talking about the name of Jesus, we're saying that I am here this morning and you are here this morning authorized by Jesus Christ. [00:03:35] We are together in his character. If my life is not in the character of Jesus Christ, I am not authorized. And I cannot say to you that I'm here in the name of Jesus if I'm not here in the character, the will, the glory of God. That's all included in the same definition, the character of Jesus Christ. That's being in the name of Jesus Christ. And then I am authorized. If I'm not here for the glory of God, if I'm not here in the strength of God, but my own and my own glory, I am not here in the name of Jesus Christ. [00:04:16] And I do not pray in the name of Jesus Christ unless my will is God's will, unless I'm doing it for the glory of God, and unless I'm doing it by his power and strength, then it's not in the name of Jesus. That's the best definition I know of the name of Jesus. And the name of Jesus needs to fill our hearts and be my life. It's not just confined to prayer or meetings like this. But the Bible says in Colossians 3 and verse 17, [00:04:47] Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Giving thanks to God and the Father by Him You know of a greater challenge? Everything you do, everything I do Not just this meeting, tomorrow My job, you name it [00:05:19] Everything I do in word or deed is to be done in the name of Jesus Christ That's what the Bible says Now you have something to work on the rest of your life. There is no stopping place. Never. We keep on growing. In grace and in the knowledge of Jesus, as long as we're here. So I wanted to pass that on because I think it's so important in our Christian experience. [00:05:53] Lamp and Light has a Bible correspondence course entitled The Heavenly Pilgrimage and maybe some of you or many of you have gone through that course or maybe you've studied it as a church, I don't know but it fits so well, The Heavenly Pilgrimage and then it goes into all those various practical applications of it and it's a very good study if you'd like to make more of a study on our pilgrimage through life sometime Any of you on your own, get it. I would like to encourage you to get the course. You don't even have to respond to them back and forth. You can just do it on your own and fill in the questions and do your own studying. Spend some time in these lessons. I think it would be worth anyone's time to go through those lessons. The heavenly pilgrimage. [00:06:44] So this morning I was thinking which of these areas might be the most practical or worthy of some time this morning. A person could preach a whole message on each one. But I tried to discern the Lord's will. And I would like to speak on too many, four of them this morning. Well, three of them are actually out of this book. The other one I just added. [00:07:15] I would like to share a few words on the pilgrim's speech. The most difficult member of the body to control. And I'd like to say a few words about the pilgrim's attire. And I'd like to say just a few words about the pilgrim in business. And then I would like to share the main thing that's on my heart, I think, is how pilgrims relate to each other in church life. How we ever do that in 25 minutes, I don't know. [00:07:49] So if I only get through one or two, we'll see where we go, how we go. So I'm going to turn to James chapter 3 just to get our attention on the subject of our speech. First part of the chapter, verse 1, My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. [00:08:21] I'm not going to take time to go on through the rest of the context concerning our tongues. But I feel it's so important because this tongue is what usually breaks down relationships. At least it's involved in relationships. In the home and in the church and on the job and wherever we go. You can just say a few words and just do a lot of damage so quickly. [00:08:53] And so, be careful. I'll just try and make it a few minutes. Be careful with your words. What kind of speech should a pilgrim's speech be? Maybe I could give these three principles at least. Guard your speech. I'll get to the three principles pretty soon. But the Bible tells us time after time, be careful, keep your words few, be slow to speak And we have this saying, think twice before you speak That would be a pretty good idea, often [00:09:25] Remember though, silence is not always golden, sometimes it's just plain yellow And we need to be giving a testimony somewhere, okay? But be careful, watch your tongues, it's in a slippery place So these three. The three great purposes of Christian speech are to glorify God, to edify man, and to communicate truth. That is how it is taught in the nonconformity book. [00:09:58] And I like it. I cannot improve on it. If we watch our tongues and we speak words that will glorify God, there's not much left. I mean, it's going to be proper speech if it glorifies God. And then you could go into all kinds of things. So it's a little humor, all right? How about when you're visiting someone's home and you're all sitting there quiet because no one knows of anything to say that will really glorify God? [00:10:28] So you all sit there and no one has anything to say. How interesting. So there's more than one side to it. Maybe I could read a verse here in the Amplified. It's in Ephesians chapter 4. I think it brings it out so well what our speech should be like. It might be better if I'd first read it in the King James. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 28, no, verse 29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. [00:11:04] To me, this is one of the most inclusive scriptures on how to use the tongue in a probable way. But it's brought out so well in the Amplified, I'd like to read it here. Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word, nor unwholesome or worthless talk That's the same as an idle word, isn't it? We're going to give account for every idle word we speak, remember that? Worthless talk? Ever. Come out of your mouth. [00:11:35] But only such speech as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others. as is fitting to the need and the occasion that it may be a blessing and give grace, God's favor, to those who hear it. To me, that's a real challenge. Something that will be a blessing to the people you are with. Sometimes a little humor can be a real blessing. It will loosen things so you can communicate and enjoy each other. [00:12:09] not some kind of humor that puts any damper on your love, your affection for Jesus Christ not something that will not be up-building but it can still, there can be some humor I like to be around sanguine people who always have something to say that's interesting usually, you know, I'm not that kind of a person I don't think I'm very good at it but I think it's one of our greatest challenges To develop our faculty of speech, to say a word in season, to say the right thing at the right time, or to be quiet at the right time. [00:12:47] To me, it's one of the greatest challenges in the Christian life. The Bible says in Proverbs, life and death are in the power of the tongue. That's how important it is. I think it really says death and life are in the power of the tongue. So be careful. Yeah, I figured that's how it's going to go. But I think I just need to read one more verse. It's in Hebrews chapter 13. This is how we can employ our tongue. That's 13, 15. [00:13:18] By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. The German says, Das ist die Frucht der Lippen, die seinen Namen bekennen. Just giving us a little bit of a different twist there. Praise to God is the fruit of lips that openly confess Jesus' name, Jesus Christ. It'll be a bit clearer yet if I read it here in the Amplified. I'd like to just read that verse yet here, then we'll go on to the next subject. [00:13:51] Through him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify his name. That's the fruit of those lips. Those lips will be praising God. So we can employ our tongues. Practice that. It's really something that we can just work on I think as long as we live. [00:14:22] We'll never get done. So glorify God, edify man, and always communicate truth. and be sure in church life that you don't spread something about someone else. Maybe we'll get to that yet. I'm not sure where we'll get to. It wouldn't take long to just say a few words about Christian business and then I'll leave that. In the book, the best thing, most challenging part to me is what was in the lesson taken out of Daniel Kaufman's book, Doctrines of the Bible on Business. [00:14:54] It's these eight Bible guidelines for business. And I'll just give them to you and then you can look it up in the doctrines of the Bible if you care to and give it some more attention. But just imagine what a business owned and run by a Christian, what effect it would have in the community if all of this were practiced. Seek first the kingdom of God, practice the golden rule, be honest before all, in honor preferring one another, or preferring another, do all to God's glory, honor the Sabbath, avoid unequal yokes, and be about our Father's business. [00:15:39] I thought that would give some pretty good guidelines to run a Christian business. Oh, and then I want to say a few words about this unpopular subject of the pilgrim's attire. It's not the most important thing, but it's important. And I felt pressed to at least say a few words about it. I have challenged the students at Bible school already to just try to picture, go through the Bible, see what you find there, [00:16:11] and just think how I would dress if I would have been converted and would not have had an upbringing like I have had and not influenced except by the Bible and I would just study the Bible while maybe read a commentary to try and get some history and some other thoughts and I'd run across these scriptures and the meanings of these scriptures How far from what we are here this morning do you think we would end up? [00:16:46] So if you would read in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 about the head covering. And it would say there that the woman is to cover her head. Oh, that means a little thing like this on the top of my hair or my head. Is that what it means? Really? It's what we're used to. And I'm not saying anything against it. I'm just saying that if we had nothing to go by but the Bible itself what size of covering do you think we would end up with? And then you would read in 1 Timothy chapter 2, I think it is [00:17:21] in like manner, verse 9 in like manner also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shamefacedness and sobriety not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly array so what is modest apparel? Oh, it depends. If you're used to seeing women all over and church and everywhere all summer long with shorts and it's going down this direction and coming up this direction anymore, and you compare yourself with that, modesty can, you know, you don't need to look like we do to be modest if you compare yourself with that. [00:18:00] But if we compare ourselves with the Bible, what does the Bible say? I found in Adam Clark's commentary that this word originally, the modest apparel, refers to a garb that was worn, introduced by the Greeks way back there, that was called, the first piece was the stola. It hung loosely over the woman's body from the shoulder to the feet, front and back. And then there was a second piece called the Catastole, if I am remembering correctly. [00:18:33] That second piece just hung loosely from the shoulders down to the waist, and it was not tied in with the band that went around the waist. It hung loosely on the top part of the body. It's very similar to what we have, except ours sometimes don't hang very loosely. But I would find that in history. That's the original meaning of the word modest apparel. And so I would begin to dress, or I would dress my wife in that. Our daughters like that. And we're getting pretty close, aren't we? [00:19:06] Just by looking at the Bible and making applications as we go along and find. And then also we read in, way back in the garden, what did God do with those fig leaves on Adam and Eve's body? It wasn't satisfactory, so he made long coats, skins of animals. You couldn't see through that. And I think it was heavy enough it didn't show the form. And according to what I found, it was not short, like pictures you might see sometimes down close to the knees. [00:19:40] No, long coats seems to be the original meaning. Tunics. They covered when Adam and Eve were all alone. What about the angels? Whenever we read about what an angel or Jesus Christ himself were clothed with, it was down to the foot. Okay, sisters, that's really easy today, isn't it? See, a lot of women are on with their dresses, their skirts down close to the feet. And before I leave this subject, this is one thing I would like to say with all my heart. [00:20:18] When the style goes the other way, and it's no longer respected, popular, to wear long skirts, if you begin to change the length of your skirt, you are revealing your heart. I don't think I'll ever have to back up on that. What I'd like to say in conclusion for this whole thought is, I don't think that our clothes or yours should be affected in the least bit by what the world does. [00:20:53] We set our standards according to what we find in the Bible and the world goes its way. And if we're swayed and we make changes because the world does it, it shows what's in my heart. I don't care what anyone claims with their lips. It doesn't make any difference. It's proof. What I say with my mouth, my lips is not proof. Sometimes that also shows what I am. But people can give a testimony with this and ruin it all with the testimony of their life. [00:21:30] It's a burden on my heart. To me, that's the heart of the whole thing. The world has nothing to say to what I dress or don't dress. Do or wear or don't wear. The Bible does. We should not be changing the way our attire in any way when the world does. In order to be accepted, respected, or you name it. [00:22:02] Sometimes we see that we could improve what we're doing and that's fine. If it's biblical and a good testimony. I'm just saying that what the world does should not influence me or you. If you're a pilgrim, they can go their way. I don't care. As far as me following that way, I don't care what they do. I don't want to have anything to do with their standard as far as being one with it. [00:22:37] And I'm going to say again that any person who follows those trends is revealing their heart condition. I wanted to make those points. Well, how does a pilgrim relate to other pilgrims in the church? Do you pray the Lord's Prayer? Is that a part of your prayer life? It's a major part of mine. [00:23:08] There used to be a time when it was pretty well meaningless to me because I grew up in a setting where it was repeated after nearly every prayer, every public prayer. Onza Fara in dem Himmel, Ihaile vera len nama, on down the line, until it lost its meaning. But teaching on prayer at Bible school has awakened me and the Lord's Prayer has become beautiful and precious and meaningful in my prayer experience. So we pray, Thy kingdom come. Is that my heart? [00:23:42] We pray, Thy will be done on the earth as it is done in heaven. Is that my heart? If we don't pray it, then start praying it because it needs to be our heart whether we pray it or not. So how do they get along in heaven? Thy will be done here on earth as it is in heaven Make it your sincere prayer Make it your heart's desire To do the will of God as it is done in heaven See what happens in your life and everyone else's around you If we would all desire that [00:24:15] All of us in the church would follow that And while I think of it I'd like to say this So I won't forget it That if sin comes into the church It is my firm belief. It's got to come in through one of the members. It can't come in any other way because you and I as members of the church are the church. Sin can be all around us. It can be hammering on us. It can be the devil can put forth all his effort to influence the church, but he can't get into the church unless you or I allow him to come in. [00:24:50] Is that right or wrong? Because you are the church. And if you keep it out of your life, then it's out of the church. So if it comes in, it's your fault or your fault or my fault. That's why the Bible says in Ephesians chapter 4, I'm going to read that verse, 15 and 16. But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things which is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth. [00:25:26] Are you a joint? By that which every joint supplieth. and according to the effectual working in the measure of every part every part every joint this joint some of you don't know I had a hip replacement close to two weeks ago and I've been battling with it all summer that joint almost made me completely unfunctional one joint I've been [00:26:00] Limping and paining and dealing with this thing all summer until it sometimes about got the best of me. One joint. You're one joint. You are part of that joint. And if you are causing friction and disunity and you fill it in, it will affect the whole church. The whole body. [00:26:31] It's what the Bible teaches. So I'm saying with this verse, the Bible says you are important. What you do is important. Every member, every joint, young people, everyone, everyone who is a part of the church, it is very important. If you keep sin out, it's out. If everyone keeps sin out, well, maybe that's not realistic because we're all human. But still, if it gets into the church, it's got to come in through one of us as members. [00:27:06] I just wanted to throw that out because we can't shirk our responsibility without paying for it. So what's the key word to the church? What does it say in 1 Peter 4, 8? Someone, know the verse, above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity will do what? So evidently, those things will come in, and we need to be careful and deal with it and not allow it to live in the whole lump. [00:27:43] Yeah, we're human, and I don't want to be unrealistic by all that I've said this morning. There are things like that that come and we need to help each other deal with it. Yeah. But when we have a heart that's united with heaven, we can. Yeah. I think that's what makes the difference. Love makes the difference. Love makes the difference. It covers a multitude of sins. Not in the sense that we just overlook everything. [00:28:16] No. it covers because some things can be overlooked some of those little grievances and personal preferences and differences can be overlooked love will do that but even when they can't and we need to deal with it love is going to still put a covering over us of protection and blessing and a means of sharing because we love each other because I care like we read in Hebrews chapter 10 Church life is supposed to be like this. [00:28:51] Hebrews 10, 24 and 25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another. And so much the more, as you see the day approaching, and if we would all love each other and have a spiritual concern, kind of an oversight, Not an oversight in the sense that all of us, I mean, look down on the other people or think I'm more spiritual than you are, but a care for each other's spiritual welfare. [00:29:27] I see a place where I may be able to encourage you, where you can use some help and in a loving way come to you. Nearly always, love is responded to in a good way. Nearly always. So, let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Just think of what church life would be like if everyone would do this. And how safe it would be to be a member in the church. [00:30:02] If all of you are looking out for my spiritual welfare, how safe? Do you see something and we talk about it? And I know that's not the easiest thing to do. but do it anyhow. So, be that person, H1. Be that person. Be that person who comes to the worship service on Sunday morning all fired up. Not just leaving it fired up. Come fired up. [00:30:34] Come with your cups turned up. Come with a hunger and thirst. Feed it. Stop working on Saturday early enough to get to bed on time and to prepare yourself for Sunday morning So you don't need to sit in the church service and fight sleep, let alone falling asleep. Not even fighting sleep. Sure, some of us have health problems. Some of us get older and it becomes a little more difficult. But do your part. If you're ever up here behind the pulpit or even the lectern, but especially up here, [00:31:06] I think you know how much it means when people in the audience sit there with their full attention on the message. Yeah, their eyes are glowing. There's a look on their face of interest. They want to get everything they can get. When you see the audience looking like that, it inspires you to give them everything you can give. But when you see them sitting back there like, what a drudgery. meaningless [00:31:38] I wish it was a half hour later or their attention is somewhere else did you read that cartoon that was put out by Mennohoff, it's been some years ago but I cut it out and kept it because I thought it was so good it's a cartoon where two characters were talking the one asked the other one, how many people worship in your congregation and the second one said Oh, about half of them have made a good point, and I kept that. [00:32:15] It's really easy to sit in the church without truly worshiping from the heart. That's a personal experience on the part of each person. Just being here is not worship. Singing the songs is not worship. kneeling in prayer when someone else is leading in prayer or even praying yourself isn't necessarily worship it's an attitude of the heart an expression of a relationship that can't be imitated or replaced by anything else [00:32:48] worship so when you're singing, worship when you're praying, worship when you're sitting in this building, worship lift your heart to God in adoration and praise and response because of your...