August 2023 – Praying Pint

Pathway to Victory – Jeffress

Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness.

–Ecclesiastes 10:12-13

The fool is a constant theme throughout the book of Proverbs. And in Ecclesiastes 10, Solomon added to what he wrote in Proverbs and gave us several more characteristics of the fool. If we want to live successful lives, we need to avoid foolish behavior.

So what does a fool do? A fool cannot control his temper. Look at verse 4: “If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses.” Have you ever had a boss chew you out? Solomon was saying if your leader gives you a piece of their mind they cannot afford to lose, do not respond with anger; instead, respond with composure. In Proverbs 15:1 Solomon said, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Being quick-tempered is foolishness.

A fool cannot control his temper, but he also cannot control his speech. Ecclesiastes 10:12-13 says, “Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness.” A fool runs at the mouth, and his tongue will end up devouring him.

One of the greatest evidences of whether or not you are a Christian is your ability to control your speech. James 1:26 says, “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.” If you find yourself continually engaging in slander and gossip, you need to examine your heart.

Pathway to Victory – Jeffress

Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.

–Ecclesiastes 10:3

Solomon emphasized the value of wisdom by contrasting wisdom with foolishness. He said in Ecclesiastes 10:1, “Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.” Just as a tiny dead fly can spoil an entire gallon of Chanel No. 5, so a little bit of foolishness can destroy an otherwise successful life. Now, let me be clear: no matter what mistakes you have made, they are not beyond forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ. But the blood of Christ will not remove the temporary consequences of your mistakes. God in His wisdom allows us to experience the consequences of our mistakes, even after we experience the full extent of His forgiveness.

So how can we avoid allowing just a little bit of foolishness to destroy our lives? Fortunately, Solomon said foolishness is easily identified. Look at verse 3: “Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.” I want you to notice four ways to spot a fool according to the Bible.

First, a fool neglects God. Solomon’s father, David, said it this way in Psalm 14:1: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds.” The fool thinks, “There is no God; therefore, I can do whatever I please.” Many people today, even many Christians, live by that philosophy. We formulate our plans and conduct our lives as if there were no God. We can go hours, days, or even weeks without ever thinking, “What does God want me to do in this situation?” But to live your life as if there were no God is foolish.

Second, a fool loves deceit. Proverbs 14:8 says, “The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, but the foolishness of fools is deceit.” A fool’s life is characterized by untruth.

Third, a fool laughs at the idea of sin and judgment. Proverbs 14:9 says, “Fools mock at sin.” You will hear them joking about things that should make them blush. They are illustrations of Philippians 3:19, which describes people “whose glory is in their shame.” Instead of being ashamed of sinful things, fools are proud of them.

Fourth, a fool enjoys evil. Proverbs 15:21 says, “Folly is joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight.” The fool treats sin as a sport. The fool is not somebody who lacks knowledge; he is somebody who lacks moral direction. That is the mark of a fool.

Turning Point Devotional – Jeremiah

Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged.
Joshua 10:25, NTL

Satan has gotten a lot of victories using his weapon of discouragement. Nowhere in the Bible are we ever told to be discouraged, but how often we fall for this negative emotion! The great hymnwriters addressed this often.

The hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” says, “We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.” The opening words of “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” say: “Why should I feel discouraged…. When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”

Another favorite song says, “When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one; and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”

When you’re discouraged, remember what a friend you have in Jesus. Take your burdens to Him in prayer, and remember He is your portion. The same eye that watches over the sparrow watches over you. Count your blessings, and cast out discouragement.

Enduring Word Devotion – Guzik

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

The Corinthian Christians had promised to gather a collection for needy believers in Judea, and they had yet to gather the money and give it to Paul so he could take it to those who needed it. Paul gave the Corinthian Christians many reasons to follow through in their generosity.

In this verse, Paul reminds all believers that God is the ultimate giver, who is able to make all grace abound toward His people. As believers give, they must be persuaded that God is able to reward their giving. Just as God is able to make the sowing of seed abound to a great harvest, so God is able to bless the generosity of His people.

In rewarding our giving, God does it with all grace. Our giving is rewarded in many ways, including both the material and the spiritual. Materially, God may bless our giving by job promotions with better pay, by unexpected gifts of money, or by making things last so we don’t suffer the cost of replacing them. Spiritually, God may bless our giving by freeing our hearts from the tyranny of greed and materialism, by giving us a sense of blessing and happiness, and by storing up rich reward in heaven. There is no end to the ways we can be blessed when God is able to make all grace abound toward us.

Part of God’s blessing to the giver is for their always having all sufficiency in all things. That word sufficiency may also be translated contentment and is so in 1 Timothy 6:6. God gives a special gift to the giving heart: always having all contentment in all things. That is a lot of all!

It’s easy for many Christians to say they have this contentment; but whether they have it or not is often more truthfully known by their spending and shopping habits. How much of a place does shopping and buying have in your life? How much does material loss affect your happiness? How happy do you get from having some material thing?

With this contentment, believers can be the richest people in the world. A man might have the wealth of the richest man in the world yet lack contentment. But if we have this contentment, it really does make us better off than the wealthiest people who don’t have it.

Also notice that God blesses His people materially and spiritually so that they will have an abundance for every good work. We are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others. God wants us to be channels of blessing, not reservoirs of blessing.

Dear believer, learn to live in the generosity that is fitting for the people of God. It’s an important step in the path of God’s great gift of contentment.

47.h. “Wilderness” – 11.n. “The man shall be put to death”

Num 15:32-36 While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. And the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the LORD commanded Moses.

For the deed was done with unblushing boldness in broad daylight, in open defiance of the divine authority—in flagrant inconsistency with His religious connection with Israel, as the covenant-people of God. (Brown)

Those are to be reckoned presumptuous sinners, who sin designedly against God’s will and glory. Sins thus committed are exceedingly sinful. He that thus breaks the commandment reproaches the Lord. He also despises the word of the Lord. Presumptuous sinners despise it, thinking themselves too great, too good, and too wise, to be ruled by it. A particular instance of presumption in the sin of sabbath-breaking is related. This was done as an affront both to the law and to the Lawgiver. God is jealous for the honour of his sabbaths, and will not hold him guiltless who profanes them, whatever men may do. God intended this punishment for a warning to all, to make conscience of keeping holy the sabbath. And we may be assured that no command was ever given for the punishment of sin, which, at the judgment day, shall not prove to have come from perfect love and justice. The right of God to a day of devotion to himself, will be disputed and denied only by such as listen to the pride and unbelief of their hearts, rather than to the teaching of the Spirit of truth and life. (Henry)

I wonder how many times we just go about our days and give no thought to how some of our thoughts, words, or actions may be sinning against God. Neglect of God’s Word will certainly lead to giving no thought to the things of God, and in this state of living, there is little hope of knowing that which pleases God or is pleasing to God, yet alone, that which honors and glorifies Jesus Christ.

47.g. “Wilderness” – 11.m. “Sin unintentionally”

Num 15:22-24  “But if you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments that the LORD has spoken to Moses, all that the LORD has commanded you by Moses, from the day that the LORD gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations, then if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, all the congregation shall offer one bull from the herd for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the rule, and one male goat for a sin offering.

Num 15:27  “If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering.

Num 15:30-31  But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”

God cared for Israel. These were commands that could only be fulfilled in the Promised Land. These laws had the built-in promise that God would lead them there and would not leave them in the wilderness forever. God’s mercy to Israel is seen in these instructions for offerings to cover sin and to express gratitude. Israel, at their point of failure, needed to be reminded of sacrificial atonement, and their need to give thanks. The stranger who lived among Israel was invited to worship the God of Israel according to God’s command. The worship of strange and pagan gods was forbidden.

Once again, immediately after the failure to enter Canaan by faith, God gave Israel laws that were to be obeyed when you come into the land. God did not question if they would live in Canaan, and only spoke of when. This set their minds forward to the promise.

Significantly, the Bible talks about sins unintentionally committed. It is often thought that if an action is unintentional, it cannot be a sin. But many of the worst sins are committed with the best of intentions. Good intentions don’t excuse a sinful result. Throughout history, many atrocities and much terror has come from those dedicated to honorable causes. One of the stated goals of communism is to establish a just, fair economic system where everyone works according to his ability and receives according to his need. Despite these good intentions, the goals of communism were used to justify the murder of tens of millions of people.

Among God’s people, there are many gossips, many talebearers, and many divisive people who will claim the best of intentions. Even if they mean well, they still may be in serious sin. The same applies to many other sins we may be ready to ignore or think lightly of because we think that good intentions excuse sin. A sacrifice for those who sin unintentionally shows that good intentions do not excuse sin. “The sinner with a high hand feels no guilt; therefore the offense is not sacrificially expiable. The one who sins defiantly may not feel the guilt of his violation, but he is nonetheless guilty before God and man.” Such sin was not to be tolerated in Israel. This command was a judicial and cultural tool for addressing such sins and confirming that such arrogant defiance of public morality would not be rewarded. (Guzik)

When our heart’s desire is to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do, and daily we cherish the Word of God, it is then that the Word of God will open our hearts and minds to things of God and expose us to those unintentional sins that we previously gave no thought to.

Oh, that our thoughts were like what David said, “Search me and know me. see if there is any offense within my heart, and lead me in the way of everlasting.”

47.f. “Wilderness” – 11.l. “Why now are you transgressing the command of the LORD, when that will not succeed?”

Num 14:39-45 When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people mourned greatly. And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, “Here we are. We will go up to the place that the LORD has promised, for we have sinned.” But Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the LORD, when that will not succeed? Do not go up, for the LORD is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. For there the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the LORD, the LORD will not be with you.” But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed out of the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah.

And the people mourned greatly.—It appears from what follows that the sorrow which the Israelites felt was sorrow for the punishment which their sin had entailed, not godly sorrow for the sin itself. (Ellicott)

But it was now too late. There was now no place for repentance. Such mourning as this there is in hell; but the tears will not quench the flames. (Benson)

There is in hell such mourning as this; but tears will not quench the flames, nor cool the tongue. Some of the Israelites were now earnest to go forward toward Canaan. But it came too late. If men would but be as earnest for heaven while their day of grace lasts, as they will be when it is over, how well would it be for them! That which has been duty in its season, when mistimed, may be turned into sin. Those who are out of the way of their duty, are not under God’s protection, and go at their peril. (Henry)

The people mourned greatly; because of their unhappy case, that they should be cut off by death in the wilderness, and be deprived of the enjoyment of the good land; their sorrow seems to have been not a godly sorrow, or true repentance for sin committed, but a worldly sorrow that works death; it was not on account of the evil of sin, the pardon of which they did not seem to seek after, but on account of the evil that was likely to come to them by it. (Gill)

They rushed from one extreme of rashness and perversity to another, and the obstinacy of their rebellious spirit was evinced by their active preparations to ascend the hill, notwithstanding the divine warning they had received not to undertake that enterprise. for we have sinned—that is, realizing our sin, we now repent of it, and are eager to do as Caleb and Joshua exhorted us—or, as some render it, though we have sinned, we trust God will yet give us the land of promise. The entreaties of their prudent and pious leader, who represented to them that their enemies, scaling the other side of the valley, would post themselves on the top of the hill before them, were disregarded. How strangely perverse the conduct of the Israelites, who, shortly before, were afraid that, though their Almighty King was with them, they could not get possession of the land; and yet now they act still more foolishly in supposing that, though God were not with them, they could expel the inhabitants by their unaided efforts. The consequences were such as might have been anticipated. The Amalekites and Canaanites, who had been lying in ambuscade expecting their movement, rushed down upon them from the heights and became the instruments of punishing their guilty rebellion. (Brown)

We might wonder how to get right with God so we can follow, trust, and rely upon Him. When sin is exposed and our hearts and minds are made known of it, there must be repentance. I am not talking about repentance of being found out. I am talking about repentance of sinning against God. There is a big difference. One will proclaim how sorry they are and the other will confess and fall at the feet of God with a heart of knowing there is nothing that they can do but repent, confess, and rely upon the grace, mercy, and love of God.

Too many times I fear we confuse being sorry with repentance. It is one thing to be made aware of your sin compared to being aware of it in the light of the holiness of God. When sin is seen in the holiness of God and not in obedience to His Word then the sinfulness of sin surely will fall upon the heart with such heaviness that only faith in the grace and mercy of God can dispel. This is totally different than to tell God you’re sorry and go about your day.

How does one who has had their sin exposed in the light go God’s holiness and in all of its sinful ugliness ever be right with God? How???? If it were left up to us and our abilities we would never be able to remove it, make up for it, or cancel it. It would hang onto us like the skin on our bodies. There is nothing we can do or say that would remove the ugliness of our sinfulness. Nothing. But God can! God does! God will!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life!”

It is never about what we do but what He has done. Trust in self-sorry, self-repentance, self-works, and any other thing self and do falls short of true confession, repentance, faith, obedience, reliance, and trust.

47.e. “Wilderness” – 11.k. “And your children shall suffer for your faithlessness”

Num 14:26-38 And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ I, the LORD, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.” And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— the men who brought up a bad report of the land—died by plague before the LORD. Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.

How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me?…. Bear with their murmurings, spare them, and not cut them off? how long must sparing mercy be extended to them? the Lord speaks as one weary of forbearing, so frequent and aggravated were their murmurings. As ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you; what they had wished for, and expressed in the hearing of the Lord, he threatens them should be their case. They had wished they had died in it, Numbers 14:2, and the Lord here declares they should. I the Lord have said,…. Determined, resolved on doing what I have declared, and again repeat it; the decree is absolute and peremptory, and will never be revoked: I will surely do it to all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me; against his ministers, Moses the chief magistrate, and Aaron the high priest; and this is interpreted gathering, conspiring, and rebelling against the Lord himself. Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land,…. They, and they only at this time: died by the plague before the Lord; either by the pestilence immediately sent upon them by the Lord, or by a flash of lightning from him, or in some other way; however, by the immediate hand of God, and in his presence, being in the tabernacle of the congregation. (Gill)

How many times has the unfaithful spoken and pulled along with them those whose hearts and minds are lukewarm? How many times has the neglect of God’s Word in a person’s life resulted in their lack of:

Faith in God
Being able to recognize that which is false
Joining that which is causing disunity
Repeating that which is false or misleading
Trust and Reliance in and on God
Seeing the need to repent

Out of the heart, the mouth speaks and I can tell you that there is much coming out of the mouths of many Christians that is void of God’s Word and honor and glory for Jesus Christ. I am reminded many times when my wife says; “Thank you Jesus”, and my thoughts were; “boy were we lucky”. How many times do we need to be reminded of the purposes, plans, mercy, grace, love, and promises of God? How many times do I walk out the door and have thoughts about my day without thanking God for the day, for His love, for His grace, for His mercy, for His promises of protection, peace, joy, rest, refuge, hope,…… etc? Far too many.

47.d. “Wilderness” – 11.j. “God Promises Judgment”

Num 14:20-25 Then the LORD said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

We don’t understand the relationship between the eternal, sovereign plan of God and our prayers; but we know it is no game. God never wanted Moses to think of it as a game and wanted Moses to at least think that his prayers had directly affected the outcome: I have pardoned, according to your word! We should pray as if life and death, heaven and hell, would be decided by our prayers! God had brought them to the threshold of the Promised Land, but they rebelled against Him and did not enter – so God will send them back to the wilderness. (Guzik)

The Lord granted the prayer of Moses so far as not at once to destroy the congregation. But disbelief of the promise forbids the benefit. Those who despise the pleasant land shall be shut out of it. The promise of God should be fulfilled to their children. They wished to die in the wilderness; God made their sin their ruin, took them at their word, and their carcases fell in the wilderness. They were made to groan under the burden of their own sin, which was too heavy for them to bear. Ye shall know my breach of promise, both the causes of it, that it is procured by your sin, for God never leaves any till they first leave him; and the consequences of it, that will produce your ruin. (Henry)

In answer to this importunate prayer, the Lord promised forgiveness, namely, the preservation of the nation, but not the remission of the well-merited punishment. At the rebellion at Sinai, He had postponed the punishment “till the day of His visitation” (Exodus 32:34). And that day had now arrived, as the people had carried their continued rebellion against the Lord to the furthest extreme, even to an open declaration of their intention to depose Moses, and return to Egypt under another leader, and thus had filled up the measure of their sins. “Nevertheless,” added the Lord (Numbers 14:21, Numbers 14:22), “as truly as I live, and the glory of Jehovah will fill the whole earth, all the men who have seen My glory and My miracles…shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers.” (Keil)

It is so easy for us to see barriers and road blocks in our path and much harder to trust and rely on Jesus Christ when there is lukewarm commitment to things of God and neglect of His Word in our daily lives. One point that I want to make is about that first person who made an unfavorable report and stated fear of following what God ordained for them to do. This first person had no fear of God, no trust in God, and no reliance on God, and yet the others fell in line to his report and fear. If we listen to others fear and give it more credibility over our trust and reliance on God then surely we will follow their line of thinking. I see it all the time in those who spend much of their time listening to news media outlets and social media posts. They regurgitate the fear and hate they choose to listen too. How easily sheep are led by the dark opinions of others who have no thoughts about things of God or His holiness, glory, honor, power, sovereignty, strength, wisdom, plans, purposes, etc… I find no good coming from news outlets or much of the social media posts. A careful examination or review of most will tell you that it is garbage, opinionated, and filled with pride, lies, half-truths, and nothing wholesome.

Think about it. God’s Word is life, truth, and profitable for every day. It will lead a person to repentance, salvation, obedience, faith, and give strength, wisdom, power, hope, refuge, and continually feed the soul unto kindness, gentleness, and joy.

What is feeding your soul? What are you allowing into your mind? If you want to grow and honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all you think, say, and do, spend time in His Word with a hunger to do just that. Stop feeding it with what others think is important about worldly stuff.

Pathway to Victory – Devotion _ Jeffress

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.

–Hebrews 13:17

One reason Solomon said we should not resist the government is to protect ourselves from harm. But I think there is a broader principle here: when you obey the authorities God has placed over you, whether in the home, at your workplace, or in the church, there is protection for you.

For example, consider the relationship between spiritual leaders and church members. In Hebrews 13:17, the writer said, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.” Now, some pastors have misused this verse to abuse their congregations or to excuse themselves from any accountability. But that does not negate the truth of this verse: God has placed pastors as the spiritual leaders of their congregations. He has also placed the staff and the deacons. And when you obey that spiritual leadership, there is great protection for you. When you resist that leadership, there is great danger for you.

Maybe you do not agree with the pastor or the elders of the church you are part of right now. What are you supposed to do? You are to submit to those leaders because they are the ones who are accountable to God. It does not matter whether you agree with their decisions; you are not responsible–they are. The writer went on to say, “Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you” (v. 17).

When you go to church, if you are just criticizing, murmuring, and stewing with anger–or worse yet, if you quit going to church altogether–you are endangering your spiritual well-being. Let me give you a word of advice: get over your bitterness, and if you cannot get over your bitterness, then get out of that church and go find a church where you can submit to the spiritual leadership. Because to stay in a church and resist spiritual authority is to endanger your soul.

Not only that–to resist spiritual authority is to endanger your physical well-being as well. In Numbers 16, a group of Israelites decided to lead a rebellion against Moses. They rejected his spiritual authority. And how did God respond? Verses 31-32 say, “The ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up.” The Bible says Jesus Christ gave Himself up for the church (Ephesians 5:25). When you are engaged in rebellion against spiritual authorities, you are hurting the body Christ died for, and He will not let that go without judgment. It is not profitable for you physically or spiritually to resist spiritual authority. But when you obey, there is protection for you.