Thursday, January 17, 2013

RESPECT FOR THE FAMILY OF GOD (Continuation)


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Colossians 3:8

You must rid yourselves of all such things as these:

anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language… 

Luke 6:45

…the words that the mouth utters come from the overflowing of the heart. 

Timothy 6:20

Turn away from godless chatter. 

Psalm 111:9

Holy and reverend is His name. 

Psalm 19:14

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart

be acceptable in thy sight Oh, Lord.

Psalm 8:1

O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is your name over all the earth.

  Psalm 112:2

Blessed be the name of the Lord both now and forever. 

The Third Commandment is not a suggestion – not an item for debate, it is a commandment.      When we take God’s name in vain, we trivialize it.  To take God’s name in vain is to lift it up for unholy motives.  “GD you,” someone will say and if they really mean it, how can one so blindly and blandly say it.  And if someone says “GD you,” and does not mean it, how can one be so frivolous with the name of God?

Lift up the name of God in praise, or throw it to the dogs in the midst of idle chatter. 

Lift up the name of God in praise, or trample it underfoot in anger or angst. 

Lift up the name of God in prayer and praise, or make light of the Creator as a habit gone badly astray.

Or as someone put on a billboard You say His name often enough on the highway.  Why not try saying it in church?

 “Jesus Christ is my Savior,” says the man or woman who would not even consider taking the name of Jesus in vain.  “Right-wing, conservative, fanatic,” cry out some. 

“Jesus Christ” and it is a curse and many think, “That’s cool man.   I can see you’re not up tight.  You’re alright.”

We repeated The Lord’s Prayer this morning; “Our Father who art in heaven…” We did not begin the prayer, “GD you who art in heaven…”  Why is that?  Why, indeed?  for does not The Lord’s Prayer continue, “hallowed be thy name…”

If a Christian uses God’s name as a curse is it worse than if an atheist says it? Does the fact that a Christian believes in God and an atheist doesn’t make a difference?  Should not a Christian be called to a higher ethical conduct when it comes to speaking of, naming and calling attention to God? 

Proverbs 23:7, “As a man thinketh, so is he.”  Indeed, let me put it this way, “As a man speaketh, so is he.”

        It isn’t enough to say that someone who takes the Lord’s name in vain doesn’t really mean anything by it. 

Of course, he means something by it.  It means he doesn’t care.  Hasn’t even thought about it, and not thinking about it is exactly where he or she really is. 

They don’t consider that when they use the word Jesus as a curse they are using the word that means “Messiah” in a way they should think about it before they say it.  Perhaps if some of His other names were used as curse words; Emmanuel which means God with us or The King of Kings, or The Lamb of God, or The Lord of Lords, or the Alpha and Omega, perhaps, just perhaps then the eternal WOW of what they were throwing around as a curse word would finally sink in.

If he or she is not a Christian?  Well, not good, but understandable.  If he or she is a Christian?  Well, not good, and definitely not understandable. 
I'm always puzzled that the film industry calls it adult language, as if praising God were not adult and profaning Him is.
 

Why do little boys of seven and older boys of seventeen and not so grown-up boys of seventy-seven swear with no more problem than ordering a coke and a hot dog?

 There is a chap at the tennis court where I used to play who in every respect looked the perfect gentleman.  His speech was cultured.  His attitude toward people, gentle.  But if you stayed around him for awhile, you’d hear him utter GD this and GD that with ultimate ease.  And it bothered me.  And what bothered me even more was that it didn’t seem to bother many others who also seemed to be gentle gentlemen.  Did I say something to him?  Sure did.  Did he and the others stop?  Sure didn’t. 

At one time, I played with a top notch woman tennis player.  I stopped playing with her because every bad shot she hit brought out a string of curses – as if God were to blame for her miss-hits.  I missed playing her because she was very, very good.  I didn’t miss her mouth.

Have you ever walked away from someone who was carrying on in such a manner and explained why you were leaving?  Or have you stayed around feeling uncomfortable, wondering why you were staying while all at the same time knowing why you were staying.  Wouldn’t want to be thought of as a goody two shoes, and besides a little mud on ones shoes shows that one is tolerant.  Tolerant, ah yes, gotta be that at any cost.

Have I ALWAYS spoken up when I should?  Confession is good for the soul but bad for the reputation.  I haven’t.  But I should have.

The Mafia are bad people but they don’t necessarily run around in public bragging about it.  Most people, if they commit the crime of stealing from their bosses, don’t pass out that information in normal conversation.  Most people, when they sin against God or man, want it kept a secret.  Why then is the 3rd commandment not considered a sin?     Why are profane curses openly projected for any and all to hear?  Because any and all have accepted it as acceptable behavior.  Because any and all don’t make the people who give out such verbal trash feel ashamed.  In fact, most such people who GD this and Jesus Christ that are proud of their profanity.  They believe it proves they are a man.  Of course, I’m not sure just what such comments prove a woman is.

We, in Miami, are a multi-lingual city.  Therefore, do many of the people from other countries coming here immediately and automatically believe we are a Christian nation because of all these vocal references to God they hear?  That is until they learn the language a little better and realize that most of what they have been hearing were not moments of Godly praise or invitations to worship. 

I share with you part of a prayer that Paul Harvey recited over the airwaves.  It was given at the opening of the Kansas State Senate.

“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.  We know your Word says, “Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done and are doing.  We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.  We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism.  We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem…We have polluted the air with profanity…and called it freedom of expression.  We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.  Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us…and set us free.  Amen.” 

       How many people, when they get to heaven are going to say, “Well, GD, here I am.  What do you know?”  Oh, no.  I think God and Jesus Christ will, at that time, be said with great reverence and concern, kneeling with the angels before the throne of grace.  I think at that moment all the good old boys and all the good old girls who didn’t mean anything by their taking of the Lord’s name in vain will realize that now is the time to mean something by what they say and how they say it.

Why did we win the Revolutionary War?  For many reasons, but as David McCullough in his priceless book on that period says, “We won because there were a few good men who because of their character changed the destiny of a nation.”  (paraphrased)  It has always been this way – men and women of character who will not, cannot, be denied.

Profaning God stinks.  It turns the soul into a skunk and pollutes the air.  Indeed, let me do something this morning I have never done before.  Close by reading the same scriptures I read at the beginning of this sermon because they so emphasize what is right and proper and what God expects of us.

“You must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language…”  (Colossians 3:8)

“…The words that the mouth utters come from the overflowing of the heart.”  (Luke 6:45)

“Turn away from godless chatter.”  (Timothy 6:20)

“Holy and reverend is His name.”  (Psalm 111:9)

“May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, Oh Lord”  (Psalm 19:14)

“O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is your name over all the earth.”  (Psalm 8:1)

“Blessed be the name of the Lord both now and forever.”  (Psalm 112:2)

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