Sermon Nuggets Mon May 16 The Way with Words
Verses:
Matt 5:33-37
33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.'
34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne;
35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.
37 Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Words
When I was a child I was amazed at a procedure the doctor asked me to do. He wanted me to stick my tongue out. I found out later that instead of encouragement me to do the opposite of what my mother wanted, he was using my tongue as a test of my health.
As I have been going through the book of James Sunday mornings, he has a lot to say about the tongue. I suppose we could add one more thing that the tongue reveals health or sickness and that is also evidence of spiritual health or sickness. Controlling the tongue is evidence of spiritual maturity.
Words and misunderstandings can cause a great deal of trouble. We know the power of words. Adolph Hitler was a master communicator. He could move 1,000s of people to evil deeds by the power of manipulative words. At that same time, Winston Churchill, the noted orator, was Prime Minister of England. His famous Blood, Sweat, and Tears speech gave England the encouragement it needed to fight unbelievable odds and ultimately be victorious. It was a turning point for the spirit of Britain in WW II.
A lot can be communicated or miscommunicated by the word. I came across the following correction as it appeared in a small town paper;
"Our paper carried the notice last week that Mrs. John Jones is a defective in the police force. This was an error. Mr. Jones is really a detective in the police farce."
Former Mayor Daley of Chicago was quoted as assuring the public that the police aren't here to create disorder; the police are here to preserve disorder."
Jesus is teaching about the difference between our actions and our words. Even though the tongue can be a vehicle of grace our actions can deny the speech. The importance of what we say with what we do.
This week be mindful especially of your promises, your temptations to lie or misrepresent something. Be aware of how your words can be graceful or hurtful. Think about gossip and if what your sharing is to build up or tear down? Think about the words of anger and the words of peace. How would Jesus speak in some of your situations this week?
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues May 17 Making Oaths
Verse Matt 5:33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.'
Making Oaths
I’ve seen them on TV many times. A person stands up in court and put his hand on the Bible and promises to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, “So help me God.”
That oath is supposed to assure those listening that before God what is said is “gospel truth”. It is interesting how invoking the name of God, Jesus, or gospel is to make people believe our words.
Jesus is referring to an Old Testament Jewish law. Ex. 20:7 "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." When you use the Lord's name carry out what you have vowed. Lev. 19:12 "You shall not swear by my name freely, and so profane the name of your God" Num 30"2 "When a man makes a vow to the Lord he shall not break his word." Duet. 23:21 "When you make a vow to the Lord, your God you shall not be slack to pay it." In other words say what you mean and mean what you say. The only reason people make oaths is because people lie all the time.
I heard of a survey down where 94% of the people say they lie. Now I don't know how you can trust that survey, but that is what was reported. We give oath to prevent perjury. Lying is a big problem that affects us all from a little toddler to someone calling sick to work when he isn’t.
Pretense is another sin of words. It is hypocrisy. One pretends to be something that they aren't. One will make a promise to another and have no intention of carrying it out.
There were oaths by the Lord's name to begin with was because people did not do what they promised. Therefore it was a means to say, O.K. what I'm saying to you really now is the truth. If there was no evil in man, there would be no need for an oath. If people never committed perjury, or profanity, or pretense we would have no need for oaths. Will you swear that what you say is true? Will you promise on the Bible using God's name that you will do what you promised to do? "
The purpose of an oath is to keep people from lying. If one lies under oath then the consequences are more severe.
It becomes increasingly more difficult to believe some people. Politicians are concerned of being thought of as notoriously liars. There are honest men and women in elected offices. What they may say is true and right, but automatically many people will not believe them just because they hold an office. That just opens the door for politicians to be mistrusted for personal gain. Advertisements cause us also to question various claims. There is a truth in advertising law that product must match their claim.
Again, the internet and emails are filled with lies, rumors and gossip that include sins of falsehood. I received one this morning asking to confirm if I changed my password and click the link if I did not. I went to the source, not the link and discovered it was a scammer.
It is interesting that this command of Jesus to keep our oaths came right after He spoke on marriage and divorce. Adultery leads to the question of divorce which leads to the question of breaking oaths. In a marriage a Christian and Godly marriage as we mentioned last week, people make a vow, they exchange vows, or promise to love, honor, respect, in various conditions. That is solemn vow, not just when marriage is happy, but as long as I live. The law said, Keep what you promise. Prevent pretence. Let your words be honest ones.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds May 18 Persuasion
Verses- 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne;35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
Persuasion
Oaths were given to persuade another that what you said was in fact true. Oaths are promises made in such a way as to make you believe in someone or something by their words. The speaker calls upon God to witness his vow and to punish him if he breaks it. It is an appeal made to God in public calling upon him as a vow of sincerity of a statement made in connection with event or fact of the past, present, or future.
The Jews of the Old Testament would revere the name of God. Yehweh was so holy a name they could not even pronounce it. Some Scribes, when writing the sacred text and copying it for others to read would bathe and put on special clothes an even use special tools, when write the name of Yehweh. They would pronounce His name Jehovah, which were the consonants, but the vowels come from the word Lord, (Adonai). So many would refuse to take an oath in the name of God so they would promise to tell the truth by heaven, or by earth, or by Jerusalem or even by their own head, they would use a special formula thereby not actually swearing by the Lord's name but still persuading others they meant what they said.
As is the case in the US, Words can be easily twisted. Soon it got to be that such oaths didn't really have to be honored because it wasn't in God's name. They could then break promises and not be found liable for them, however they felt they were free from guilt because they didn't swear in the name of Jehovah. Some Jews divided oaths into those which were absolutely binding and those which were not.
Is that different from word games? Who got into the candy? "I didn't eat one single piece." Perhaps the person ate three or four pieces, so
I didn't lie but let you to believe I didn't get into the candy. “Say, can you come and serve at ladies circle?” “Oh, I'd love to, but I'm busy that afternoon.” That might mean she is busy watching her soap operas and doesn't want to come."
Of course, you get the idea, we think of a way to phrase our words so that we think we are not lying, but the receiver is getting a message different than what we are sending.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Thur May 19 Legalities
Legalities
Mt. 23:16-22. Jesus is upset with certain formulas by which people think they do not have to keep their promises or commit perjury. Many people tell lies but excuse themselves of wrong doing if it wasn’t under oath.
One lawyer was not very religious. He discovered that he had terminal illness and a friend of his was surprised to see him in hospital reading a Bible. “I'm just looking for loopholes". Legalism seeks to condemn and justify our behavior based on what we do and don’t do.
I'm afraid that some people will be able to get out of punishment, disregard God's law, continue in sin and someday there will be a loophole. We are a culture so lawsuit happy that no one takes responsibility for their own actions. There are no loopholes with God, the perfect judge. Sin is sin and whatever psychologists, churches or books might tell you. We cannot renegotiate with the supreme judge like the sports players and owners. There will no longer be a mediator before God pleading our case, but there is one now, and his name is Jesus. He can't change the rules but he can give us a new heart. For God is not mocked. What man sows that shall he also reap" One of man's first sins was to evade the responsibility for his own actions in Genesis and God holds each person liable for his transgressions.
Jesus is saying don't even take an oath at all, because all oaths are ways to keep us to our promise of use methods to make people believe us. But before God truth and pure actions do not need such things. Formulas to make oaths like swearing by heaven that's his throne, earth is his footstool. even your own head can't do anything about it all that belongs to God so indirectly you are swearing by God in all the words you utter, so some formula will not let you get out of it. We must be honest and forthright in all our words.
This leaves us with a modern day question. Does Jesus mean that we should not take any public oaths? Quakers and Amish are most known for refusing to sign or swear to anything. They say that whoever cannot be believed without swearing is already condemned. Yet we recognize that Paul took an official oath in II Cor. 1:23 "I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth." or Gal. 1:20 "I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie."
But perhaps even more significant is that before the court Jesus was put under oath in Mat. 26:63-65. I do not think Jesus here is referring to secular realm but once again pointing to the heart. Live honestly before God and do not use oaths to manipulate doing and saying what it right. Say what you mean and do what you say.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri May 20 Integrity
Verses- Matt 5: 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.
37 Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Integrity
What became more important for Jesus is saying an oath or not should make no difference. Everything you promise is heard by God. We are accountable for every word that comes from our mouth, whither it be it exaggerations, little white lies, oaths with fingers crossed, or outright lies and deceptions. Our lives should be such that we would be even above the suspicion that we might be lying. Every word uttered is in the presence of Almighty God. Life cannot be divided into compartments some of which God is involved and others in which He is not. God is in all our lives. We are not to be people using one set of language in church and another outside.
The Spirit within us is the Spirit of truth. A man's word should never need an oath to guarantee the truth of anything he may say or promise, but his character should make an oath completely unnecessary.
I have close acquaintance that lied so much I do not believe most of what he says. I listen politely to the stories and completely forget them afterwards because I do not believe any of them. This is a matter of personal integrity.
Teddy Roosevelt had a hired hand that found some cattle that got on his ranch land. He was going to brand them since they hadn't been branded yet in North Dakota. Roosevelt fired him on the spot and said that one who will steal for me, will also steal from me. The one who lies for me will also lie to me.
The Amish people are known for hard honest work and never cheating. They always have jobs because they are honest to keep their word. They are above suspicion of evil. Ought not that to be the way for all Christians? Unfortunately, I read an article called here comes a fellow church member, watch your pocketbook. The article went on to explain how fellow Christians expect discounts, and special arrangements financially because of church contacts. Many are poor bill payers, and break their word.
One of my favorite stories in the O.T is the passage in II Kings
12:15 They did not require an accounting from those whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty.
There is freedom in truth for you are never covering up anything.
There is within the life and the heart of the kingdom people, that desire to be above suspicion, to live life that no one need ever to question your word. So trustworthy that it bring honor to Jesus. May we so honor God in the words and thoughts and actions, which again stems from a clean and sin forgiven heart. Anything else is evil and from the devil.
At pastors counsel this week an ongoing problem was discussed. Christians do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings so leaders, instead of being honest, will not say anything to help solve a problem until everyone else has discussed it and made it much worse than if they said something truthfully earlier. People will talk behind others backs instead of communicating directly. They will say there is no problem when indeed there is. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Be a person of integrity and face the facts.
Pastor Dale
