Baptist City Blog

What's Your Excuse

2 Chronicles 34:1

"Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years."

One of the things you get used to hearing in the ministry are the excuses of why people can't serve the LORD. You would think of all that the LORD has done for people that they would lay their excuses aside; however, churches are filled with people who think their excuse is unique. They don't realize that the excuse they give has been used before, and it is full of holes.

Josiah had plenty of excuses he could have used not to serve the LORD. His father and grandfather were very wicked men who gave him no example of how to serve the LORD. He was young when the pressures of the kingdom came upon him, and yet he served the LORD. He was reared in a single parent home from eight years of age and on. The environment around him was one of wickedness and idolatry. Yet, Josiah threw every excuse aside so that he could do right and serve the LORD.

Let me ask you, what is your excuse as to why you won't sell yourself out to serve the LORD? Is it that you're parents are not good people? If that is your excuse, then Josiah showed it can be done. Every young person can turn out right in spite of their home environment. Your parents may be as wicked as the Devil himself, but you still have a choice to serve the LORD. If you are reading this devotional, then that means you have had some opportunity to hear what is right from someone; therefore, to use your parents as your excuse not to do right is a lame excuse.

Is your excuse that you are too young to serve the LORD? I get so tired of this excuse, especially when it comes from parents talking about their children. If a child is old enough to get saved, then they are old enough to serve the LORD. Josiah was eight years old when he had to make the choice to serve the LORD. God uses children in His work just as much as He uses adults. Parents, don't hold your children back from serving the LORD because you think they are too young. Be sure that you give your children plenty of opportunities to serve the LORD.

Is your excuse that you are a teenager? If this is your excuse then you must realize that Josiah served the LORD as a teenager also. Certainly, if anyone had an opportunity to do wrong it was Josiah. He was king of Judah. He had the power to do whatever he wanted to do and nobody could do anything about it. Yet, he still did right and served the LORD. You can use your teenage years as an excuse of why you don't serve the LORD, or you can decide as a teenager to do right and serve the LORD.

Age, environment and circumstances are never good reasons for you not to serve the LORD. You can find people of all ages, in every environment and circumstance serving the LORD. It all comes down to this, your heart. The excuse you use not to serve the LORD is simply a camouflage of a backslidden heart. Josiah had a heart for God and that is why he served Him. Likewise, you must decide with your heart that you are going to serve the LORD. Throw out all of your excuses and decide right now that you will serve the LORD in spite of your age, environment or circumstance.

Helping the Ungodly

2 Chronicles 19:2

"And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD."

One of the great weaknesses of Jehoshaphat was that he never learned to stop helping the wicked. Over and over again he yoked up with the wicked to help them in their ungodly ways. It is sad to see a man with so much potential ruin it by helping the ungodly. In the verse above, Jehu the seer went to King Jehoshaphat and told him that God was angry with him because he helped the ungodly. Jehoshaphat could have experience the blessings of God in a greater way if he would have learned not to help the ungodly.

I find that many Christians make the same mistake that Jehoshaphat made. There are many Christians whose actions help the ungodly. Christian, we don't need you to help the ungodly. Fighting the world's system is hard enough without God's people helping the world move their agenda forward. You may wonder how we can help the ungodly. Let me show you several ways in which God's people help the ungodly.

First, don't help the ungodly with what you look at and watch. Every time you watch an ungodly movie you are helping the ungodly with their agenda. Though this devotional is not about whether the television is right or wrong, it is about you watching things on that television that you should not be watching. Don't help the ungodly by looking at websites that promote people dressed indecently. Don't look at magazines that are published by wicked people whose whole purpose is to defile your mind. They know what they are doing with these magazines. They know they are creating an addiction that will cause you to come back and purchase more, thus furthering their agenda.

Second, don't help the ungodly by where you go. Christian, don't be guilty of going to places that help the ungodly with their wicked agenda. You're not to go to the bars and dance halls where wickedness abounds. You have no business going to these places for you represent Christ. Are there places that you go that Christ would not enter? If there is, then you're helping the ungodly by attending these ungodly places.

Third, don't help the ungodly by the things you say. Don't be guilty of allowing curse words to come from your mouth. Don't be guilty of saying jokes that are off-color or are downright dirty. Don't be guilty of talking like the world. What you say should push Christ's agenda and not the worlds. Be careful that you don't help the ungodly with the things that you say.

Last, don't help the ungodly by backsliding. There are too many Christians who are helping the ungodly with their backsliding ways. These Christians are ones who do right for awhile, and then backslide. This has become their pattern. Don't let your pattern be one of backsliding. Always remember that when you backslide, you're helping the ungodly.

Christian, if you're going to be guilty of helping anyone, then be guilty of helping Christ's agenda. Be sure that everything you say, watch and do are things that will help further the cause of Christ. It is only the cause of Christ that will bring the greatest blessings in your life. It is only the cause of Christ that will bring your nation back to what it ought to be. Don't be like Jehoshaphat who was part of the problem, but we like the Prophet Jehu who was part of the solution. Ask God every day to help you be the Christian who helps Him further His cause.

Four new sermons for the week of 04/22/12 are now up at www.baptist-city.com.

Confidence, a Necessary Component to Success

2 Chronicles 9:1

"And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart."

A very important part of Solomon's success was the level of his confidence. One thing that you will notice about Solomon was that he did not lack confidence. After taking over the throne of David, you immediately see that Solomon was very confident with every decision he made. When the Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, she came to question him to find out if everything she heard was true. To her amazement, she found a very confident individual to the degree that she said, "...the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me:..." When you look at Solomon's life, you find there were four things that gave him confidence. These four things that gave Solomon confidence are necessary components to your level of confidence. Because these are necessary components to confidence, then they are necessary components to success, because you will never experience great success without confidence.

The first thing you'll notice about Solomon was that he had finished projects to which he could point. It is very important for your confidence that you finish what you start. Every time you quit a project that you start, you lower your level of confidence. You need to succeed at something to have confidence. When you can have something to which you can point that you built or completed, that helps build confidence in your life. One of the greatest reasons many people have no confidence is because they have never finished or built anything. Building and finishing projects will build your confidence level.

The second thing you'll notice about Solomon was that he knew what he believed. When the Queen of Sheba asked him questions, he had the answers. Don't go through life not knowing what you believe. You need to know what you believe about the Bible. You need to know what you believe about the doctrines of the Word of God. You need to know what you believe about politics. You need to know what you believe concerning finances. These are just to name a few subjects, but you need to know what you believe in every area of life. If you don't know the answer in some area, then get the answer by taking the time to learn about that area. Don't let your lack of knowledge be a crutch that you lean on as an excuse not to have an answer.

The third thing you'll notice about Solomon was that he was organized. Organization brings confidence. When someone lacks organization, then their lack of organization brings a lack of confidence. You must make sure your life is organized, because organization brings a calmness, and calmness is an element of confidence. If any part of your life is disorganized, then take the time to organize it so your confidence level can be boosted.

The final thing you'll notice about Solomon was that he had a good attitude. He and his people were happy. Why were they happy? They were happy because they had done right, and doing right gave them confidence. Your attitude plays a big part in your confidence level. If you have a negative attitude, then you will have a hard time having the confidence that you need your life.

Confidence is an important part of anyone's life. Don't go through life with a lack of confidence, but take these four components of Solomon's life and put them into your life. These four components will help you to raise your confidence level.

Companions and Friends

1 Chronicles 27:33

"And Ahithophel was the king's counsellor: and Hushai the Archite was the king's companion:"

Two men are mentioned in this verse who both had the same job. The first man's name was Ahithophel. You will find that Ahithophel was the king's counselor, but was not his friend. In fact, you will find that he turned on David when Absalom rebelled against his father. Though he was a good counselor, his loyalty to David was suspect at best. However, there was another man in this verse whose name was Hushai. The Scriptures call Hushai the king's companion. He was a man who worked right alongside Ahithophel, but he was more than a counselor, he was a friend. In fact, 2 Samuel 15:37 shows Hushai was David's friend. This man was loyal to David to the point that he risked his own life for his friend. This was true loyalty and friendship. There are a couple of things about these men that I believe we can look at that will help us with our companions and friends.

First, whoever knows you best has the wherewithal to hurt you the most. Ahithophel knew David so well that when Absalom rebelled against his father he was able to give counsel to hurt the king. The Scriptures teach that Ahithophel's counsel was as if it came straight from the mouth of God. The reason is because he was so close to David that when he rebelled, he was able to expose his weaknesses. This is why you must be careful with whom you associate and with whom you decide to share your heart. Samson opened his heart to Delilah, and she destroyed him. Too often young people will open their heart to people who have no business knowing the intimacies of their heart. Parents need to teach their children that nobody outside of their family deserves the right to know the intimacies of their heart. Likewise, adults need to be careful to whom they open their heart. Just because they call themselves your friend does not mean you should tell them everything inside your heart. You must realize that to whomever you open your heart, they have the power to hurt you the most. Always be careful to whom you give your heart. Be stingy with opening your heart to just anyone who calls you their friend.

Second, let loyalty be the determining factor with whom you allow to be your close friend. Hushai was more than just a companion, he was a friend. He proved his friendship when David fled from Absalom. I believe at that point his companionship turned to friendship. You will have many companions in life, but you will have very few friends. Friends are discovered in tough times. Friends are discovered when others leave you and you find they are still standing with you. Friends are discovered when you are going thru the toughest time of your life, and only they are there for you to help you through that time. It is easy for people to want to be around you when everything is going well, but when you're facing the roughest time of your life and they are still with you, then they are your friend. When someone is willing to hurt their own name and being for the sake of standing with you, then they are your friend. These are the ones whom you should allow to be the closest to you. These are the ones to whom you can open your heart in times of need. No, they probably should not know the intimacies of your family, but they are the ones whom you can trust to help you through difficult times.

Always be careful about allowing companions to become your friend. Don't let people decide that they are your friend, but you choose who you want to be your friends. Just because they call you their friend does not mean that you must call them your friend. Friendship is a privilege that must be earned. Don't just give the title of friend to anyone, but only give that title to those who stand with you through thick and thin. Friendship is never discovered in a few months, but it is discovered over years of both good and bad times.

How to Follow Properly

1 Chronicles 21:3

"And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?"

The story about Joab following David is maybe one of the greatest stories that shows a follower how to properly follow their leader. David asked Joab to number the children of Israel; however, Joab knew that it was not right for David to do this because God commanded that they should never be numbered. Yet, when Joab was done questioning David, he laid aside his feelings and obeyed his authority. These actions of Joab were the proper way to follow authority.

It is important that you understand your role in following authority. God judges you by how you follow and not by how your leader leads. Your responsibility as a follower is not to judge how the leader leads, but your responsibility is to follow what he tells you to do. Though God may judge the leader for leading in the wrong way, God judges you by how you follow.

There is nothing wrong with a follower giving his opinion. However, when you give your opinion be sure that you give it with the right attitude. Giving your opinion with the wrong attitude is wrong. When you approach leadership with the wrong attitude, then you have already defeated the purpose of giving your opinion. Don't demand when you give an opinion. When you disagree with your leader, voice your disagreement, but do it with the right attitude. Tell them your concerns of why you disagree. Tell the authority the reason you disagree. There must be something that you base your disagreement upon. Voicing a disagreement based solely upon opinion will be discerned by most wise leaders. When you give your disagreement, lay out your case as to why you believe you're right. If you give your disagreement with the right attitude, then most likely your authority will listen to it.

Once leadership makes the decision of what they are going to do, then it is your responsibility to follow. When leadership makes the decision to do something that you disagree with, lay your feelings aside and follow. Not only should you obey what they tell you to do, but be sure to obey with the right attitude. If you can't follow what leadership tells you to do, then you need to quietly leave. Don't sow discord against your leader. This is wrong! Your responsibility as a follower is to follow the decisions that leaders make even when those decisions go against what you want to do and what you believe is the right way to do it.

When leadership ask you to do wrong, then you must do right. Always obey the highest authority. When I say they ask you to do something wrong, I am saying that they are asking you to do something that is in direct contradiction to the Word of God. They have not asked you to do something that is against your desires, but they have asked you to do something that God tells you not to do. When this happens, it is then your responsibility to obey the Word of God. Always remember that God's Word is the highest authority and must always be obeyed.

Understanding your role of following is important to the furtherance of the cause for which you are involved. If you are following in the home, then following in the right way will make your home stronger. If you're following in the church, then you will make your church stronger by properly following your pastor. If it is in the workplace, then following properly will help your place of employment to become a better place to work. Whatever you do, be sure that you follow properly so that God can bless you for doing right.