Baptist City Blog

The Crown Has Fallen

Lamentation 5:16

"The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!"

Sin had caused a horrible thing to happen to the nation of Israel, and that was they lost the crown of glory among the nations. Israel is God's chosen people. They saw God do mighty works through their nation. They saw God part the Red Sea and the Jordan River, defeat giants that were heroes of their day, conquer cities that seemed to be unconquerable and became the super power of their day. Yet, their sins caused them to lose all of this. Their sins caused them to become the nation that served instead of the nation being served. They became the laughingstock instead of being the revered.

It would seem that Israel would never again be used because their crown had fallen; but hold on, though their crown had fallen they were still used by God. God still used Israel as the nation where Jesus would be born. God still kept Israel in prophecy for the end times. Though their crown had fallen, they were still useful to God.

I recently heard another preacher friend of mine tell me how another pastor criticized him for using someone who lost their crown. This other pastor said that they just didn't trust the fallen person and that they shouldn't be used. What a sad commentary on that pastor's Christianity. Just because someone's crown has fallen does not mean that God won't use them again.

When you study the Scriptures, you find that there are many people who lost their crown, but God still used them. David lost his crown when he had the affair with Bathsheba, but God still used him. Moses lost his crown when he smote the rock the second time, but God still used him. Samson lost his crown when he told Delilah where his strength came from, but God still used him. Just because people lost their crown does not mean that God can't use them.

Have you lost your crown? Has sin claimed the crown from your life and you feel like you are worthless to God and Christianity? Let me assure you that God can still use you. Oh, you may never wear the crown again, but that does not mean that you can't serve in the palace of the church. That does not mean that you can't help those who still have their crown to fulfill God's purpose for their lives. So, the crown has fallen from your head, God can still use you, and He can still use you in a great way. Don't let the fallen crown be the casket of your Christian life. Don't let the fallen crown be the epitaph on your spiritual tombstone. Don't let the fallen crown be the final chapter in the book of your life. Yes, your crown has fallen, but you are still useful to God. God can use you even if your crown has fallen.

Furthermore, to those who still have their crown, be careful about judging those who've lost theirs. Just because they've lost their crown does not mean that God can't use them. Stop sitting in your self-righteousness thinking you are better than they. Don't think that the crown cannot fall from your head. Christian, because you still have your crown, you should try to help the one's who've lost theirs to be used by God again. If all you do is judge them, then you are working against God.

Finally, let the fallen crown be a lesson to you. Always remember that everyone is one decision and one act away from losing their crown. Let the fallen crown warn you that you are capable of losing yours. Beware of Satan's tactics and carefully and prayerfully live your life asking God to help you keep the crown on your head.

The King's Servant

Jeremiah 38:7

"Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;"

The savior of Jeremiah was an unseemly character. Jeremiah was thrown into a dungeon of mire because he preached the truth to God's people. While in that dungeon, one of the eunuchs of the king heard that they put Jeremiah there and wanted to keep him from dying. This eunuch was an Ethiopian, and his name was Ebedmelech. Ebedmelech means, servant of the king. This young man, who was a servant of the king, saved Jeremiah from sinking in the mire.

Let me remind you that if you are saved, you are the servant of a King. You are not a servant of a king who rules on this Earth, but you are a servant of the King of kings. You are are servant of God Almighty. You may think that you are the least of the servants, but Ebedmelech was not someone who held high position in the land, but he was a servant who served the king and saw a need. There is a need today for people like you to realize that the King of kings needs you to rescue people who are sinking in the mire of sin. Whether saved or lost, there must be a servant of the King who will do what they can to rescue people from the mire.

There needs to be servants like Ebedmelech who see that truth has been squelched, and do what they can to defend the truth. Ebedmelech was not just rescuing Jeremiah, he was rescuing truth from being silent. Edmund Burke once said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." You can think that someone else will eventually stand and defend truth, but if everybody has that mentality then nobody will defend the truth. Ebedmelech wasn't the only servant who knew that Jeremiah had been thrown in the dungeon, but he was the only servant who got involved while truth was under attack. You can take the position that you don't want to become involved because of the consequences, but while you allow truth to be attacked, it sinks in the mire of sin's voice. You need to be that servant who will defend truth.

Let me take this a step further and say that Ebedmelech was a person who defended the falsely accused. As a servant of the King, you need to become a person who defends those who are falsely accused. When you hear of someone being accused, you would be better off defending them than to let them be falsely accused while you stay silent. When an accusation is hurled at someone, your first reaction should always be to defend the accused, for you do not know whether or not they are guilty.

Moreover, Ebedmelech got others involved in rescuing people. Christian, it is your responsibility to involve others in rescuing people from the mire of sin. I am talking about you bringing someone with you when you go soul winning. Soul winning is rescuing people from sin's mire. You should follow Christ's command to train others to become His disciples.

Christianity is in a desperate need of more people who are like Ebedmelech. You don't have to have "position" to be a servant who defends truth and rescues the falsely accused from the mires of sin, but all you have to do is get involved. You may think that you are not that great of a person, but let me remind you that you are a servant of the King of kings. As a servant of the King, make it your life's journey to rescue as many people as you can from sin's mire.

Your Need of Hatred

Psalm 119:128

"Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way."

Everybody loves to be a winner. If you were to ask the average person who plays sports if they love to win, you would certainly get a positive response out of them. However, how much a person hates to lose will determine how great they become. If a person hates losing more than they love winning, then they will work harder to be sure that they win.

The Psalmist says, "...I hate every false way." The Psalmist loved truth, but he also had a hatred for things that were false. He says in verse 127,"Therefore I love thy commandments above gold: yea, above fine gold." He made it clear that he loved God's Word, but his love for truth caused him to have a hatred for untruth.

One of the biggest problems I see in Christianity is that people don't love truth enough to cause them to hate sin. I believe that one of the reasons sin is so prevalent in our churches is because there are people who want to do right, who say they love truth, but they don't have a true hatred for sin. One of the attributes of God is that He hates sin as much as He loves truth. God loves it when His people do right, but He hates it when they do wrong. Don't mistake God's hatred for sin as a hatred for the person who commits the sin. God loves the person, but He hates the sin that the person commits.

The proof of how much you love truth and hate sin can be found in whether you are willing to divide with loved ones over truth being attacked. Luke 14:26 says, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." Is God saying here that we should hate our family? Not at all! What God is teaching in this verse is that if we love truth, then we will be willing to separate from our parents, spouse, siblings and friends when truth is attacked. In other words, you will hate sin so much that you will stand against the ones you love so that truth may prevail.

Let me ask you, are you one who sweeps sin under the carpet when it comes to your family? Are willing to allow sin to continue so that your family is not hurt? A love for truth will cause you to deal with sin, even if it is your own family. This is tough, but a love for truth will cause you to do the tough things. It is never joyful to have to deal with sin, but sin that is not dealt with will eventually hurt worse. That is why you need a hatred for sin. If you will hate sin to the same degree that God does, then it won't matter who has done wrong, you will deal with it and not sweep it under the carpet. I'm not saying that you should go about slandering people, what I am saying is that your hatred for sin will cause you to love truth so much that it will motivate you to properly deal with sin.

Christian, this world needs people who have a hatred for sin. Yes, I'm glad that you say that you love truth, but the test of your love for truth is how much do you hate sin? You will salvage more lives if you hate sin enough that false ways must be dealt with, even if it is your family. Don't ever be guilty of changing the definition of truth because a person near you has done wrong. By dealing with sin properly, you can help those near you in the best way. Always remember this, a great hatred for sin will produce a great love for truth.

The 09/30/2012 FBC Hammond bulletin is now up at www.baptist-city.com.

Two great sermons by Dr. Jack Hyles for the week of 9/23/12 await you at www.baptist-city.com.

The song of the week now at www.baptist-city.com is I'm Amazed.

Music from 9/23/12 at FBC Hammond is now up at www.baptist-city.com.

Behave Yourself

Psalm 101:2

"I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart."

Right behavior is no mistake. People who have the right behavior have it on purpose. You are not going to act right on accident, you are going to act right on purpose. It is when you don't do things on purpose that you end up doing the wrong things.

The Psalmist said in the verse above, "I will behave myself in a perfect way." You will notice that he decided he was going to behave himself, but he also purposed that he was going to have the right behavior. In other words, he had a plan on how he was going to behave right. In the next few verses you will find what he decided he was going to do to have the right behavior.

First, he decided he was not going to be in the place where wicked things would be shown. Verse 3 says, "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:..." You will not behave right if you are watching the wrong things on television. You will not behave right if you are looking at the wrong websites. If you want to have proper behavior, then you must decide to never allow yourself to be in places that show the wrong things.

Second, he purposed to be around the right people. Verse 4 says, "...I will not know a wicked person." You will have a hard time behaving right if you are around people who don't behave right. You won't behave right by being with people who run to the bars and live in the party scene. You won't behave right when you sit in church with the people who are constantly doing wrong. You won't behave right by going to the restaurant with your work associates who live a wicked lifestyle. You must be around people who do right if you want to behave right.

Third, verse 5 shows us that you must have the right conversations if you want to behave right. You are not going to behave right when you are around the gossips. You are not going to behave right when your are around those who talk dirty. If you want to have the right behavior, then you must be around those whose conversations are glorifying to God.

Fourth, verse 6 shows us that you must serve the LORD to behave right. The best way to live right is to do right. When you are doing right, you won't be doing wrong. One of the greatest reasons you need to be involved in your church is to keep yourself from sin. You have a better chance of staying away from sin by serving the LORD.

Fifth, verse 7 shows that right behavior comes from having the right friends. This is somewhat akin to being around the right people, but it is stronger in that your friends are the whom you invite to your house. Your behavior is as good as your weakest friend. This is why it's important for you to be careful about your friends. Having good friends will help you to live right.

Last, verse 8 shows that dealing with your sin quickly will help you to behave right. Christian, you cannot allow sin to continue in your life and it not affect you. Sin is like cancer, if it is not dealt with immediately it will eventually control you. If you want to behave right, then you need to get rid of any sin in your life.

How you behave is a choice. It is a choice to do the things mentioned above. Your behavior will be determined by how well you implement each of these things in your life. If you find that your behavior is not what it should be, then it is because you are not doing one of the things mentioned above. On the other hand, if you want your behavior to continue to be right, then guard each of these areas so that you don't end up having the wrong behavior.

Upside Down Leadership

Isaiah 3:12

"As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths."

One of the greatest quotes that Dr. Lee Roberson would often say is, "Everything rises and falls on leadership." Dr. Roberson knew leadership principles very well. He built the great Highland Park Baptist Church which in its heyday was the largest independent Baptist Church in the world. He understood that leadership must take responsibility and lead if they want their organization to succeed.

In the verse above, we find that one of the reasons Israel fell was that their roles of leadership were upside down. Everything needs leadership, but having the right roles of leadership is as important as the leader leading. You will notice that the roles of leadership were reversed in that the children and women were leading instead of the men. You will see that the result of upside down leadership was that the people erred from the truth and the old paths were destroyed.

I find that we seem to have upside down leadership in our present day society. God intended for men to be the leaders in the home, church and society. When you look at the home, God said that the husband was to lead, then the wife was to follow the husband, and the children were to be obedient to both dad and mom. Likewise, men were to lead in the church. Throughout the Scriptures you find that women were not to preach or lead, it was the men who were to lead. I know this is not popular in our society, and I know this will probably get some who read this upset with me, but it is very clear in the Scriptures that men are to lead in the church. Likewise, if the husband is to lead in the home, then that would mean that the men are to lead in society. Anytime you reverse these roles in any place, you will have error, confusion and compromise.

Men, it's time you step up to your obligation and lead. One of the reasons the women have to lead is because men have neglected their obligation, and somebody had to step up and lead in the home and society. If the husband won't lead in the home, then somebody has to take the lead and make decisions. Stop letting society shame you into not leading in your home. God's Word is always right, and God commands the husband to be the leader in the home. Likewise, men need to step up in the church. There are many churches where the ladies have to take leadership roles because the men sit in the pews and do nothing. Don't get upset with women leading if you are not doing your part of leadership.

Furthermore, ladies need to submit to the leadership role of men. This does not mean that a lady is a second-class person, it simply means that God chose the man to be the decision-maker, and you need to follow the man's leadership decisions. Follow his decisions with your spirit as well. You may follow him physically, but you also need to follow him with your spirit. There is nothing worse than watching a woman give an attitude when her husband tries to lead. You will destroy your home if you don't follow him with your spirit as well.

Finally, stop allowing the children to lead. Our society has become one that looks to the children for leadership when the adults are to be the leaders. Parents need to stop letting their children lead in the home and start leading themselves. Pastors need to stop letting their children influence their direction and start leading their children themselves. Adults in society need to take the leadership and stop letting the children dictate what direction their nation should go.

Anytime you turn the roles of leadership upside down you will have problems. The reason compromise is prevalent in our day is because of upside down leadership. I challenge every person to stay in their role of leadership so that the old paths are preserved.

The Race Is Not to the Swift

Ecclesiastes 9:11

"I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

The verse above should be an encouragement to the average person because you don't have to be the best to win. Let's face it, most of the people who make up this world are just average people. Many times average people believe that life is stacked against them, but that is not true. There is a way that even the average can win.

The verse above says, "the race is not to the swift,..." You don't have to be the fastest, you just have to outlast the fastest person. If you will keep going when the fastest person quits, then you can still win the race. This verse says, "nor the battle to the strong,..." Again, you don't have to be the strongest, you just have to outfight the stronger person. The verse above is simply teaching that you don't have to be the fastest, strongest, smartest, richest or the most skilled to win. Talent is not what wins in life, normally it is the person who simply outworks all of these.

Christian, most of the people whom God used in the Scriptures were average people. Gideon was an average person when his brethren cast him out when he was young. David was such an average child that when the man of God came to anoint a new king that his father and the man of God did not think he was good enough to be the next king. Moses was not the most eloquent speaker of his day for he had a speech impediment. Paul was not the physical specimen that would draw the attention of the crowd. The disciples of Jesus Christ were not the most educated men in their day. Yet, all of these were used by God to do great things, and all of these were highly successful people.

Most of the time you will find that those who win are not those who are the most talented, but those who win are those who outwork everyone else. You don't have to be the best to win, all you have to do is work harder than the best. It is amazing how the hardest workers seem to be the luckiest people in life. If you will decide to outwork those who are the most talented, you will find that you can succeed and end up the winner.

Preacher boy, you may not be the best preacher out there, but you can still build the largest church if you will work harder than every other preacher. Sunday school teacher, you may not have the best personality or be the most educated, but you can build the largest Sunday school class if you will outwork every other Sunday school teacher. Student, you may not be the gifted student, and good grades may be hard to come by, but you can be the top of your class if you will out-study every other student. Whatever your situation is, you can end up on top if you will work harder in that area.

I simply want to encourage you to remember that the race is not to the swift, the race is to the one who will keep on running when others quit. When the smartest stop studying, you keep on studying. When the richest stop earning, you keep on earning. When the most skilled stop working, you keep on working. If you will outlast and outwork everyone else, you can be the winner. Stop whining about everybody else being better than you, and suck it up, decide to work harder, and you will see success. You can be a success, but you will only be a success, not because you are the best, but because you outwork everyone else.