OPEN: I have a test for you this morning. I’m going to give you certain common phrases and ask you to tell me whether or not they came from Scripture. If it will make you feel any better, I had lunch with two preachers last Wednesday and they missed about half of the references… so don’t feel too bad if you miss a few.
1. “To the victor go the spoils.” (William Learned Marcy in his Life of Jackson)
2. “Can a leopard change his spots?” (Jeremiah 13:23)
3. “The apple of his eye” (Deut. 32:10)
4. “No rest for the wicked (Isaiah 48:22)
5. “A heart of gold.” (Partial credit - Proverbs 17:3 speaks of refining our hearts like gold)
6. God helps those who help themselves (Aesop’s fables. It literally says: “The GODS help those who help themselves.”)
7. “The blind leading the blind.” (Luke 6:39)
8. “Money is the root of all evil.” (This sounds like it comes from 1 Timothy 6:10. But that verse literally says, “For the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”)
9. “Tempted by the Serpent, Eve to eat the apple and gave to her husband, and he ate also.” (False—Genesis 3 only says that they ate from the FRUIT of the tree of knowledge)
10. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (TRUE - though commonly identified with Abraham Lincoln, it is from Mark 3:25)
11. “Keep the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7)
12. “No man is an island.” (Line from a famous poem by John Donne)
13. “Flies in the ointment.” (Ecclesiastes 10:1, KJV)
14. “In the twinkling of an eye” (I Cor. 15:52)
APPLY: The goal of that little exercise was to help you realize two things:
1st - there many Biblical phrases that are common in our society
2nd - there are times when people quote certain phrases, mistakenly believing that they actually are in Scripture. Now that may seem innocent, but I’ve found that when people replace God’s thinking with human reasoning they often end up some pretty warped theology and lives.
For example: I’ve known people who not only believed the Bible said “God helps those who help themselves” but they used it to justify some very unChristian thinking and behavior
· they would avoid giving to the poor, because – “God helps those…”
· they would explain why they didn’t pray very often because – “God helps those…”
· they would even engage in dishonest and abusive business practices because – “God helps those…” and they were quite comfortable with helping God in way they could.
David recognized the danger of this tendency. In Psalm 119 he wrote:
“Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying YOUR decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands…
I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you… Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.” verses 5-6;10-11;24
What David was telling us was this:
If we want to live the right kind of life we need to hide His word in our hearts because wrong thinking is based on wrong information, while good thinking/good living is based on good information.
And God’s Word is the best information you can get.
Let me repeat that: Wrong thinking is based on wrong information.
ILLUS: Back in the early 1600’s the Catholic church put Galileo on trial for heresy. Do you remember what heretical concept Galileo was accused of?
He said the earth circled the sun, but the church of his day taught that the sun orbited the earth.
Why did the Catholic church believe this? Not because of Scripture… the Bible never taught this... and that wasn’t really why the church of that day believed this falsehood anyway.
So where did they get that idea?
Well, they believed that the Sun circled the earth because that’s what Aristotle – an ancient Greek philosopher - taught.
Why would they build their theology on the teachings of an ancient Greek philosopher? Well, by this time in European history, people were not considered educated until they were educated in the reasonings of Greek and Roman philosophers. Frankly, knowledge of Scripture just wasn’t sufficient for someone to be considered intellectually superior.
Thus, because the church that day felt the best education was based on human reasoning, they accused Galileo of heresy…in spite of the fact that Galileo staunchly believed in the Bible.
About 20 years before he was accused of heresy, Galileo wrote a letter to a Benedictine monk who was also a pioneering scientist of the day. And in his letter Galileo wrote:
“The holy scriptures cannot err, and the decrees therein contained are absolutely true and inviolable.” (Translated by Mary Allan Olney, "The Private Life of Galileo London, England", 1870, p. 73 quoted by James Brodrick, S.J., "Galileo, the Man, His Work, His Misfortunes" New York City, NY: Harper & Row, 1964, pp. 76-77)
ILLUS: Now, just a note.
While the Bible doesn’t teach that the sun orbits the earth… it DOES teach that the earth is the center of God’s creation. I just recently read an article that described a conclusion certain scientists – who believe in the “Big Bang” theory - have arrived at. Based upon their research, these scientists have arrived at a conclusion that they find very uncomfortable:
They have found that our galaxy is the origin of their “Big Bang”. In other words, according to the scientific information they’ve accumulated, they have have arrived at the inescapable conclusion that our galaxy is the center for the entire Universe….(http://www.icr.org/article/3343/)
Neat huh?
Amazingly that sounds a lot like what Scripture teaches us.
Now, let me repeat: Wrong thinking is based upon wrong information, while good thinking/ living is based upon good information. And God’s Word is the best information you can get
Jesus prayed to the Father for us: “Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth.” John 17:17
Essentially, Jesus is telling us that the Bible you hold in your hands is TRUTH.
The Bible is like an ancient boundary marker… it marks the beginning and the ending of truth.
ILLUS: Now what is a boundary marker?
A boundary marker/ a landmark - is something that establishes the boundaries of your property.
Back in the days of ancient Israel, those markers were stones or trees. If you had a dishonest neighbor who wanted some of your land they might move those stones. That’s why Prov. 22:28 says: “Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.”
ILLUS: As I prepared for this sermon, I found a Supreme Court brief on the internet. It described a boundary dispute between two neighbors. It seems they had been friends at one time, and back in the 1960’s they had worked together to plant a hedgerow between their properties which they both took care of.
But one day, they got mad at each other and they tore down the hedgerow and one of them put up a chain link fence on the other neighbor’s side of the property line. THEN they “moved the boundary marker” so that it would appear the new fence was on the property line.
Now how did that get all the way to the Supreme Court? Well, the offending neighbor claimed two things:
1st His neighbor hadn’t cared when the fence went up.
2nd His neighbor hadn’t complained in the proper time.
You see, what that neighbor (who’d moved - boundary marker) had done is called encroachment. He had built something on his neighbor’s property that didn’t belong there.
But the legal system says that if somebody does that to us we have a limited amount of time to complain about it… 10 years to be exact. If we don’t complain within the set amount of time the damage has been done, and we lose the right to that part of our property.
Now, how does this apply to what we’re talking about today?
Well, we’ve just said that the Word of God is our “boundary marker”. It’s our landmark of truth. It marks the beginning and the ending of truth.
And that boundary marker of God’s Word PROTECTS US.
Look with me to
Psalm 119:5-6 “Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying YOUR decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands…
Verses 10-11 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you Psalm 119:5-6;10-11
As long as we stay within the boundaries of God’s Word we’ll avoid many of the harmful things in life.
· We’ll avoid shame, guilt and personal loss
· We’ll protect our reputations and our families
· We’ll guard our relationships and our business ventures.
God has set those boundaries to protect us from all kinds of difficulties in life.
But those boundaries can be “encroached” upon.
I mean just because God put those boundary markers there doesn’t mean that something/someone else can’t move them. God’s wisdom can be “pushed back” and something else can be built on the property that doesn’t belong there.
The Bible is very clear that it’s up to us make sure that this doesn’t happen.
Now, how can those markers be moved? How can they be pushed back?
1st - We can do it ourselves, out of willful disobedience
I’ve heard people say “I know that’s what the Bible says… I just don’t want to do it that way.”
And they say that because God’s word can be uncomfortable to obey once in a while.
For example: I’ve heard some of the recent presidential candidates say something like: “I believe in God, I believe in the Bible, but I won’t let my beliefs dictate government policy if I’m elected.”
What those candidates are saying is this:
“I want to become President, but I feel uncomfortable with God’s boundary markers.”
“If I become President, I won’t necessarily obey God.”
Does anybody else sense the disconnect here???
That candidate is saying “I know what the Bible says… I just don’t want to do it that way.”
And that doesn’t just happen in politics.
* It happens in churches. I’ve seen Elders and preachers look the other way when a relative or a friend was engaged in flagrant sin
* It happens in homes where husbands and wives break up their families because they’re not happy… even tho’ they know God hates divorce
* It happens to parents who are afraid of hurting their children’s feelings and so they allow their kids to do whatever they want to do with whoever they want… even when they know that such behavior is contrary to Scripture.
A good leader (a good Elder/ spouse/ a good parent) knows where the markers are and they make sure they lead their people inside those boundaries.
So that’s the first way the boundary markers/landmarks can be moved… we do it ourselves
2. The 2nd way we can allow the markers to be moved is by negligence
We just didn’t pay attention when the markers were moved.
It wasn’t our fault. We didn’t move the those landmarks… somebody else did it.
When this happens, it’s like that man whose neighbor “encroached” on his property.
The fence was put up… the boundary stone was moved but
he never bothered to have a survey done
he never bothered check where the boundary marker should have been.
and by the time he complained, the damage had been done.
All kinds of things try to encroach on the boundary markers God has set in our lives.
ILLUS: Back when ABC had a comedy called “Spin City”, the actor who played a homosexual activist (Michael Boatman) said comedies are perfect vehicles for controversial subjects like homosexuality.
Boatman told TV Guide, "The best way to slide these controversial issues under America’s doorstep, into their living rooms, is to have the start laughing first. Suddenly they find themselves, if not accepting new ideas, certainly more willing to discuss them."
They do it on purpose!
Boatman, and others like him deliberately try to change the boundary stones. They come into your home thru TV programs, movies, popular books. But they’re not the only influences who try to push back God’s influence in our lives.
· People we work with
· Relatives and friends
When they find out what you believe, they’ll be incredulous.
They’ll mock you.
They’ll make fun of what you stand for.
They’ll try to shame you into abandoning the landmarks God has set in place.
And you’ll be tempted to back off - to let them change the standards - because you don’t like the ridicule. And that’s not uncommon. The tendency is to allow someone/ something else to encroach on God’s landmarks in situations like that.
I mean, it’s not that we deliberately are intending to disobey God. It’s just that someone else has set the boundaries for us, and we let them be set that way because we’re afraid of being mocked.
When that happens, it helps to remember that God’s people have often been mocked.
In fact, Jesus Himself was mocked, and ridiculed, and made fun of… while He hung on the cross for your salvation.
So, don’t negligently allow someone else to encroach on God’s landmarks because you fear being made fun of.
It’s important to make sure you know where God’s boundary stones are and to make sure they’re not moved. But how do I make sure I know where they’re at?
Well, David tells us. Look again to Psalm 119:12-16
Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
* He says that he is filled with rejoicing and delight because of God’s Word that he will NOT neglect it. (vss.14 & 16) It’s kind of like having a garden out in your backyard that you really enjoy working in. If you neglected it, it would be filled with weeds and crabgrass. But because you “delight” in that garden, you don’t neglect it. You’re constantly working so that you can have the crop you desire.
* David says that he wants God to “teach” him (vs. 12). He realizes there are going to be things that only God can help him understand, so he is pleading with God to work with him and instruct him in what he needs to know.
* He says he “recounts” all God’s laws (vs. 13) He goes over them and over them. He’s not satisfied to just read them once and move on, he wants to visit them again and again.
* David says he “meditates” on God’s word (vs. 15) He reads it… and then he thinks about what he’s read for awhile and asks himself what these words mean to him.
* And he says he “considers” – or thinks about God’s ways (vs. 15). He thinks about how God interacted with some of the great men and women in the past. He thinks about the stories of Moses, and Abraham and Esther. He asks himself why God dealt with these people as He did… and why He didn’t do other things that He might have with them.
Essentially, David takes the Word of God and he turned it inside out trying to find out what pleased God and what would make him a better servant for his Lord.
David did this because he knew that God had set up His Word as a boundary marker - a landmark - to help His people know what was right and true.
CLOSE: David wanted to know where the landmarks were so that he could stay inside God’s will. And that’s what we need to do with our lives as well because those boundary markers are there to protect us, and to protect the ones we love.
Those boundary markers are important for us and our loved ones. But they’re even important for the sake of people you don’t even think about… people who watch you because they know you’re a Christian and that you believe in God. They sense that if they watch you, they’ll know where the markers are at themselves.
ILLUS: My dad used to be a farmer. Around planting season, there was one farmer that dad always watched to see when he’d plant his crops. Whenever that man planted his fields… dad did too, because dad knew the other farmer was wise.
Similarly, there are people who watch you and I because they sense you know where God’s will is at… and they hope to please God in the same way.
ILLUS: Harry Emerson Fosdick once told of a little church on the coast of England was ruined in a hurricane. The congregation wasn’t wealthy enough to rebuild and they were in despair. Then one day a representative of the British Admiralty came to their preacher. He asked if the congregation intended to rebuild their church building.
The preacher explained that they just didn’t have the money.
"Well," the representative of the British navy, "if you do not rebuild the church we will. That spire is on all our charts and maps. It is the landmark by which our ships set their course. We need your church to help guide our way."
