PRESERVING OUR SPIRITUAL HERITAGE—Part I—Joshua 22:10-34
A man told his doctor that he wasn’t able to do all the things around the house that he used to do. When the examination was complete, he said, "Now, Doc, I can take it.
Tell me in plain English what is wrong with me."
"Well, in plain English," the doctor replied, "you’re just lazy."
"Okay," said the man. "Now give me the medical term so I can tell my wife."
The man had to preserve his heritage of slackness.
Christians must preserve their heritage of godliness.
Need:
One generation away from no witness.
The sons of Israel zealously protected/preserved their spiritual heritage.
God’s people must preserve/safeguard their spiritual heritage.
When have we safeguarded our spiritual heritage?
How is our spiritual heritage to be safeguarded/protected/preserved?
How can our spiritual heritage be safeguarded?
9 Challenges/Considerations/Guidelines/Moves toward safeguarding/preserving our spiritual heritage.
1st Challenge toward preserving our spiritual heritage is
APPROPRIATE REMINDERS(:10)
Far-removed
—Explanation:(:10)
“And when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben & the sons of Gad & the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a large altar in appearance.”
Josh. 4:4-7—“So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; & Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, & each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. “Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
—Argumentation:
Heb. 10:1-4—“For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come & not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls & goats to take away sins.”
—Illustration:
Christian Symbols/Cross-Chimes-Shirts-Magnets-License tags/Something real behind the reminders
Coca-Cola Ads/Something real behind the reminder/
Granny Square Afghan/Mimi Ramsay began it/Reminder of deceased grandmother
Prayer rock/Pillow-Floor/Reminder for Prayer
Indention in upper lip/Place for finger tip meaning—‘Hush!’/
—Application:
?You met the challenge to Provide Pertinent Reminders?
?You helping to Preserve your Spiritual Heritage?
2nd Challenge toward preserving our spiritual heritage is
APPROPRIATE TALK(:11)
—Explanation:(:11)Perceptions/Guide/Direct
“And the sons of Israel heard it said, “Behold, the sons of Reuben & the sons of Gad & the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel.””
Popular Perceptions matter!
?In what light does populace relate my actions?
?What response do my actions encourage?
Understand how our actions can be misinterpreted & act accordingly.
Truth without whole truth is misleading!
We cannot control the talk but we can control our actions!
—Argumentation:
Acts 9:26—“And when he[Paul] had come to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; & they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.”
What does your past life as a Christian say of you?
—Illustration:
Parents order a children to ‘hush’ while on phone/Want to know why/Command without explanation is meaningless
Sign/‘Road Work Ahead’/Can’t say, Billy Bob’s kids are in trouble again’—Govt. cover-up—
Black bags on roadside/Grady County is picking up trash by road/Some will still say, ‘How tacky!
‘I saw Aunt Bertha at the hospital!’/No further explanation/Oh, no!/Assume the worst/find out she was visiting/Appropriate Talk
—Application:
?You met the challenge to Provide Pertinent Talk in regard to your spiritual heritage?
?You helping to Preserve your Spiritual Heritage?
3rd Challenge toward preserving our spiritual heritage is
APPROPRIATE ACTION(:12)
—Explanation:(:12)Corresponding/Mutual/Response
“And when the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves at Shiloh, to go up against them in war.”
“Whole congregation”—
“War”—destruction
What situation calls for...
FORCE applied=Force needed
—Argumentation:
—Illustration:
Mosquito infestation/Mosquito spray truck/Corresponding action/mosquitos speak unfavorable of joys of the area/
—Application:
?How do you Respond to violations against your spiritual heritage?
?What Action is required for violation against your God?
?You met the challenge to Provide Pertinent Action?
?You helping to Preserve your Spiritual Heritage?
4th Challenge toward preserving our spiritual heritage is
APPROPRIATE CAUTION(:13-15)
—Explanation:(:13-15)
:13—“ “Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben & to the sons of Gad & to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,
:14—“& with him ten chiefs, one chief for each father’s household from each of the tribes of Israel; & each one of them was the head of his father’s household among the thousands of Israel.
:15—“And they came to the sons of Reuben & to the sons of Gad & to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, & they spoke with them saying,...”
Volatile situation
Discover room for error. Cautious when applying pressure.
Diplomacy—fact finding mission
—Argumentation:
—Illustration:
Potentially dangerous situation
China spy-plane incident/Potentially volatile
Tommy Crowell/Building contractor’s son/Bonfire burning unusable materials/Fire slow to light/Opened gas container/Dumped gas on fore/Blew up in face/To hospital/Appropriate Caution not used
—Application:
?You met the challenge to Provide Appropriate Caution?
?You helping to Preserve your Spiritual Heritage?
—CONCLUSION:—
Action:
4 Challenges toward preserving our spiritual heritage are Appropriate ...
REMINDERS(:10)
TALK(:11)
ACTION(:12)
CAUTION(:13-15)
Presented 05/27/01pm to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 31797
