Bro Bill Sunday School 5/1/11

Bro Bill Sunday School 5/1/11

Gen 26:13  And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

Gen 26:14  For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

Gen 26:15  For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

Gen 26:16  And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.

Gen 26:17  And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

Gen 26:18  And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

Gen 26:19  And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

Gen 26:20  And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

Gen 26:21  And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

Gen 26:22  And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

Esek means contention; Sitnah means hatred.  Isaac dug again the wells that his father had dug and the Philistines had stopped up.  He found springing water: an excellent source of water.  The inhabitants of Gerar strove for it.  He could have taken the attitude of, “You turkeys plugged the wells and here you are claiming them when I’ve done all the work to dig them again.”  He was mightier than them; he could have armed his men and fought with them.  He handled it with integrity though, He went and dug another well.  We want to treat everyone in a kind way. 

We need to treat children in a kind way.  What I remember in my third grade class is that they taught us how to make our eights, how to use the telephone, and the teacher did something that embarrassed me.  I tell you this only to demonstrate that we remember how people treat us.  If we don’t treat people right it will stick in their mind. 

We have a tendency when saints do something that we feel like they shouldn’t have, we have a tendency to hold confidence.  People in the world probably wouldn’t do this.  What is black is black and what is white is white.  I had one individual tell me, “This person treated me real bad.”  They will have to stand before God just like I have to stand before God.  We cannot use someone else as an excuse for our not serving God. 

We must keep our testimony clear so that we don’t hinder people from getting to God.

Gen 26:24  And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

If we will handle things right, God will be with us and He will bless us.

Gen 26:26  Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

Gen 26:27  And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

Gen 26:28  And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

We must keep a clear testimony in general so that people can come back even after they may have mistreated us and say, “We see that the Lord is with you.” 

If we clear things up when we need to and apologize when we need to, it will take away the ammunition, people cannot come and say, “You did such and such.”  If they do, you can say, “I apologized.  I took care of things; I’m clear.”

I’ve learned that when people make apology, they need to clear it up as clear as they possibly can so that there is no room for doubts.  Instead of standing up for your rights, clear it as clear as you can admit you were wrong in whatever way you were wrong.  The clearer the apology than the clearer our pack is of it.  If you want to be done with it, have a clear apology. 

People will know you and know what you are without you even telling them.  Our testimony with the world is important.  If you don’t have a good one and have treated people wrong, when they come to church and you feel like you want to hide your face or maybe you try to patch things up and try to get them to not blame the rest of the church because of what you’ve done.  Just like the thought, “Your actions are speaking so loud, I can’t hear what you are saying.”

1Sa 12:1  And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.

1Sa 12:2  And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.

1Sa 12:3  Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.

1Sa 12:4  And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand.

1Sa 12:5  And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.

He’d walked before them from his childhood until that day; now he was old.  He was clear before all of them.  There must have been a multitude there.  He had a good testimony.

Act 23:1  And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.

Act 24:16  And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

If these brothers could live with a conscience void of offence we can too.  God is no respecter of persons.  Exercise means to elaborate, train, strive, exercise.  Have always a conscience void of offence.  You say, “I’ve asked God to forgive me.”  Yes, but what about the one you offended?  Have you asked them to forgive you? 

2Co 3:2  Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:

People know us.  They have confidence to ask us to pray because of our lives.

Exo 2:11  And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.

Exo 2:12  And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

Exo 2:13  And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?

Exo 2:14  And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.

Exo 2:15  Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.

Moses looked around to see if any was looking.  When he thought that no one was watching, he killed the Egyptian.  The very next day he went out; they knew that he’d killed the Egyptian.  Even Pharaoh heard about it.  Sometimes we do things that we think that no one knows anything about.  At times that could be the case, but often it is known. 

Taking care of things quickly puts a stop to the talebearer and can keep the event from being told about.  If it is taken care of right away then there is not a time lapse and a chance for the talebearer to work.  Don’t bake a cake as your apology.  Give your apology in humility.

1Th 2:10  Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:

1Pe 2:12  Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

In our words, “have your behavior honest among the unbelievers so that they may, by beholding your good works, turn to God in the day of visitation.”  If we live in a way that is clear in regards to our testimony then when God visits people with conviction the testimony of our life will not be a hindrance to them.

Php 2:15  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Pro 27:11  My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

Live right before God so that He may deal with those that are mocking Christians.

Php 1:10  That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

Mat 5:13  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Mat 5:15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

As the salt of the earth if you lose your flavor, you’re good for nothing but to be stepped on.  Let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify God. 

1Sa 9:1  Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.

1Sa 9:2  And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

1Sa 9:3  And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.

1Sa 9:4  And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.

1Sa 9:5  And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us.

1Sa 9:6  And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go.

People could say, “I can’t find what I’m looking for here or there.”  Live so that you have the testimony that they can say, “There is an honorable man, a man of God, he has a reputation.”  We want to live in such a way that they can say, “I cannot find happiness here or there, but I know a man or woman of God, let us go there, they can show me how to live for God.”