PRESERVING YOUR SPIRITUAL HERITAGE-II—Joshua 22:10-34
Jack & John/Entrepreneurs/Bungee jumping business in Casa del Sol, Mexico/Opened for business—Large crowd, rough looking(sticks & bats)—No one buying tickets/
To get crowd excited, John jumped/
John came back up with shirt torn/Quickly said ‘Pull me up!’/
John up again/Welts on head & body, clothes ripped,‘Pull me up! Get me out of here!’/Jack recovers John & asks,
‘What in the world happened down there?’
John says, I’m not sure. But do you know what ‘pinata’ means?’
John was concerned about preserving his life/heritage.
God’s people must concern themselves with preserving their life in Christ or their spiritual heritage.
One generation away from no witness.
The sons of Israel zealously protected/preserved their spiritual heritage.
God’s people must preserve their spiritual heritage.
How are we to preserve our spiritual heritage?
4 Challenges toward preserving our spiritual heritage are...
1. Appropriate Reminders(:10)
2. Appropriate Talk(:11)
3. Appropriate Action(:12)
4. Appropriate Caution(:13-15)
5th Challenge toward preserving our spiritual heritage is
APPROPRIATE ACCUSATION(:16-20)
—Explanation:(:16-20)Rebuke/Confrontation/Reprimand
PLAIN FACTS
:16—““ “Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD, ‘What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the LORD this day, by building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the LORD this day?”
PAST FAILURE—Learning experience
:17-18a—“‘Is not the iniquity of Peor enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although a plague came on the congregation of the LORD, that you must turn away this day from following the LORD?
Num. 25:1-9—Midianite woman—24,000 of Israel died
CONSEQUENCES—Far-reaching
:18b— “...And it will come about if you rebel against the LORD today, that He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow.
GRACE
:19—“‘If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then cross into the land of the possession of the LORD, where the LORD’S tabernacle stands, & take possession among us. Only do not rebel against the LORD, or rebel against us by building an altar for yourselves, besides the altar of the LORD our God.”
SIMILAR EXAMPLE
:20—“‘Did not Achan the son of Zerah act unfaithfully in the things under the ban, & wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.’””
The way the challenge/Accusation is presented has everything to do with the response we receive.
Accusations are our perceptions of the evidence expressed to the perpetrators.
—Argumentation:
CHURCH
Mat. 18:15-17—““And if your brother sins, go & reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. “And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; & if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile & a tax-gatherer.”
INDIVIDUALS
1Tim. 5:1-2—“Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers, & the younger women as sisters, in all purity.”
1Tim. 5:20—“Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also may be fearful of sinning.”
Titus 2:15—“These things speak & exhort & reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”
Rev. 3:19—“‘Those whom I love, I reprove & discipline; be zealous therefore, & repent.”
Titus 1:13-14—“This testimony is true. For this cause reprove them severely that they may be sound in the faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths & commandments of men who turn away from the truth.”
—Illustration:
Full dumpsters/Accuse county of negligence/Present dangers to public
—Application:
?Do we[Providence] provide Appropriate Accusation/Rebuke of our brothers & sisters?
?You met the challenge to Provide Appropriate Accusation?
?You helping to Preserve your Spiritual Heritage?
6th Challenge toward preserving our spiritual heritage is
APPROPRIATE EXONERATION(:21-27)
—Explanation:(:21-27)Deliverance/Reason/Answer/Concern
:21—“Then the sons of Reuben & the sons of Gad & the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, & spoke to the heads of the families of Israel.
:22-23—“The Mighty One, God, the LORD, the Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows, & may Israel itself know. If it was in rebellion, or if in an unfaithful act against the LORD do not Thou save us this day! “If we have built us an altar to turn away from following the LORD, or if to offer a burnt offering or grain offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may the LORD Himself require it.
“The Mighty One, God, the LORD”
—Common understanding of God
“If”—If your accusations are true then...
“Do not thou save us”—Allow the intent of the 10 tribes.
“May the LORD Himself require it”
—Penalty for sin enacted/active
:24—“But truly we have done this out of concern, for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your sons may say to our sons, “What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?
25 “For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between us & you, you sons of Reuben & sons of Gad; you have no portion in the LORD.” So your sons may make our sons stop fearing the LORD.’
:26-27—“Therefore we said, ‘Let us build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather it shall be a witness between us & you & between our generations after us, that we are to perform the service of the LORD before Him with our burnt offerings, & with our sacrifices & with our peace offerings, that your sons may not say to our sons in time to come, “You have no portion in the LORD.”’”
—Argumentation:
1Pet. 3:14-16—“But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness & reverence; & keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”
—Illustration:
Full dumpsters/Accuse county of negligence/Present dangers to public/County reply—Memorial Day holiday—County workers off!/Appropriate Deliverance/Exoneration
Bug caught/Foul taste/Situation tastes bad/Appropriate Exoneration
Bobcat/Trap set/Skunk caught in trap/Sprays/Not a bobcat!/ Whole situation stinks/Appropriate Deliverance/ Exoneration
—Application:
?Is our Exoneration Appropriate to the charge?
?You met the challenge to Provide Appropriate Exoneration?
?You helping to Preserve your Spiritual Heritage?
7th Challenge toward preserving our spiritual heritage is
APPROPRIATE INTERPRETATION(:28-29)
—Explanation:(:28-29)
:28—“ “Therefore we said, ‘It shall also come about if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, “See the copy of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather it is a witness between us & you.”’
:29—“Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD & turn away from following the LORD this day, by building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the LORD our God which is before His tabernacle.””
Problem—Wasn’t related to all as should be.
—Argumentation:
—Illustration:
Map/Legend/US highways—GA highways—Interstates—Multi-lane—Paved—Unpaved— Campsites— State Parks—National Parks—Capital—Boundaries—Rivers
Art/Artist must explain significance of symbolism
—Application:
?Do we[Providence] provide Appropriate Interpretation of our intentions to our brothers & sisters?
?You met the challenge to Provide Appropriate Interpretation?
?You helping to Preserve your Spiritual Heritage?
8th Challenge toward preserving our spiritual heritage is
APPROPRIATE PORTRAYAL(:30-33)
—Explanation:(:30-33)Accurate Representation
Faithful relation of message so as to be understood by all.
:30—“So when Phinehas the priest & the leaders of the congregation, even the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben & the sons of Gad & the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them.
:31—“And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben & to the sons of Gad & to the sons of Manasseh, “Today we know that the LORD is in our midst, because you have not committed this unfaithful act against the LORD; now you have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of the LORD.”
:32—“Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest & the leaders returned from the sons of Reuben & from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, & brought back word to them.
:33—“And the word pleased the sons of Israel, & the sons of Israel blessed God; & they did not speak of going up against them in war, to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben & the sons of Gad were living.”
Faithful relation of message so as to be understood by all.
Situation brings Satisfaction
—Argumentation:
Gal. 3:1—“You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?”
Acts 17:1-4—“Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis & Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, & for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining & giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer & rise again from the dead, & saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded & joined Paul & Silas, along with a great multitude of the God-fearing Greeks & a number of the leading women.”
—Illustration:
3 Blondes Sunday School teachers/Concerns about doctrine taught/Pastor asks them ‘What is Easter?’/#1—Easter is when we put up the Christmas tree & give each other presents/#2—Easter is when we celebrate the coming of spring with new clothes & going to church/#3—‘Easter is when we celebrate Jesus’ going to the cross & voluntarily giving His life as payment for our sins. & He was buried in a new tomb....& on the third day the Jews roll away the stone & if Jesus sees His shadow we have 6 more weeks of winter!’/Not an Appropriate Portrayal of truth.
—Application:
?Do we[Providence] provide Appropriate Portrayal of our ministries to our brothers & sisters?
?You met the challenge to Provide Appropriate Portrayal?
?You helping to Preserve your Spiritual Heritage?
9th Challenge toward preserving our spiritual heritage is
APPROPRIATE WITNESS(:34)
—Explanation:(:34)
“And the sons of Reuben & the sons of Gad called the altar Witness; “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.””
“Called the altar”—Named/Authorized
“Witness/Ed”—Inserted— ‘Witness to future generations, of their concern to transmit their religion pure & entire.’
No witness is ever a silent witness.
—Argumentation:
Gen. 31:42-53—READ—:48-49—“And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you & me this day.” Therefore it was named Galeed; & Mizpah, for he said, “May the LORD watch between you & me when we are absent one from the other.”
—Illustration:
UNUSED/Vietnam memorial in Washington, DC/Appropriate Witness
—Application:
?Do we[Providence] provide Appropriate Witness that speaks of our unity with our brothers & sisters?
?You met the challenge to Provide Appropriate Witness?
?You helping to Preserve your Spiritual Heritage?
—CONCLUSION:—
Action:
9 Challenges toward preserving our spiritual heritage are Appropriate ...
ACCUSATION(:16-20)
EXONERATION(:21-27)
INTERPRETATION(:28-29)
PORTRAYAL(:30-33)
WITNESS(:34)
REMINDERS(:10)
TALK(:11)
ACTION(:12)
CAUTION(:13-15)
Presented 06/03/01pm to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 31797
