Monday, December 30, 2019

Fight for Your Family Do Not Be Misled


Fight for Your Family
Do Not Be Misled


If the dead are not raised,
"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."  
Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 1 Corinthians 15:32-34
The thinking of people who believe this life is all there is
The people who will not repent and fight for righteousness
The people who are lost in vanity because it seems the wicked
Are not judged, what difference does it make
The people who want more so they can take life easy
These type of thinkers can be misleading
Because they do not believe there is life after death
Or they have given up on life and making a difference
Fighting for your family is to keep the eternal perspective in sight
Seek the Kingdom of God first
This life is short, but eternity is forever
Who are you hanging around?
How is your company affecting your character?



Do Not Be Misled

I hate being misled.

It happens all the time…

Intentionally and unintentionally.

There seem to be multitudes of wrong
paths that keep us from the right path.

Too often we discover its money, power
 or lust behind the things that lead us.

People intentionally and unintentionally
misleading us and our families.

So how can we safeguard
against being misled?

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 33…

Do not be misled:
"Bad company corrupts good character."

As parents we do not want our
children hanging around bad company.

We are concerned about the influence
from kids our children spend time with
and how it will affect their character.

Paul in earlier verses defines where bad
company that corrupts good character comes from.

He says in verse 32…

If the dead are not raised,
"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."  

Paul tell us that the way we
look at death effects our life…

“if the dead are not raised”

There are two types of people…

Those who believe this life is all there is.

And those who believe there
is some type of life after death.

The ones who believe this life is all we get, say…

"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."  

Your character is shaped by how
you answer the question…

 Is there life after death?

Paul simply was saying people who do not believe
the dead are raised back to life, are bad company.

If this life is all there is…

 Than enjoy it the best you can.

If this life is all there is…

 Than what is more important then you?

If this life is all there is…

 There will be winners and losers.

So make sure you are the person
with the most toys in the end.

Paul was not the first to coin this term…

"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."
  
It had been around for centuries before.

Isaiah 22…

The Lord is angry with His people
because they were being attacked
and instead of fighting they gave up.

The Lord, the LORD Almighty,
called you on that day
to weep and to wail,
to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth.
But see, there is joy and revelry,
slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
eating of meat and drinking of wine!
"Let us eat and drink," you say,
"for tomorrow we die!"
Isaiah 22:12-13

Instead of crying out to the Lord, they gave
up the fight and repentance of sin and said…
   
"Let us eat and drink," you say,
"for tomorrow we die!"

God’s judgment to this was severe…

"Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,"
says the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
Isaiah 22:14

Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes says…

Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes
and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better
with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God.
Ecclesiastes 8:12

Too often we see wicked people
doing better than the righteous.

The righteous can become frustrated at trying to
do what is right, but not rewarded like the wicked.

The righteous can become frustrated
with God and question His justice.

Solomon sees this with great concern but still says…
 
I know that it will go better
 with God-fearing men,
who are reverent before God

Solomon in the context of Ecclesiastes 8:15…

So I commend the enjoyment of life,
 because nothing is better for a man under
the sun than to eat and drink and be glad.
Then joy will accompany him in his work all the
days of the life God has given him under the sun.

Solomon is not saying give up and party,
 but speaks of the same principle
found in 1 Timothy 6:6-8…

But godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into the world,
 and we can take nothing out of it.
But if we have food and clothing,
we will be content with that.

Be content with godliness
and enjoy what you have.

In Luke 12, Jesus tells a parable
 to a man who asked Jesus to judge
between himself and his brother
in the matter of an inheritance.

Jesus tells of a man who was a successful
farmer and wanted more so he could…
 
“Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."
Luke 12:19

God called him a fool and
says that night he will die…

"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up
things for himself but is not rich toward God."  
Luke 12:21

If the dead are not raised,
"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."  
Do not be misled:
"Bad company corrupts good character."
1 Corinthians 15:32-34

The thinking of people who
believe this life is all there is…

The people who will not repent
and fight for righteousness…

The people who are lost in vanity
because it seems the wicked are not judged,
what difference does it make …

The people who want more
so they can take life easy…

These type of thinkers can be misleading
because they do not believe there is
life after death or they have given up
on life and making a difference.

Fighting for your family is to
keep the eternal perspective in sight.

Seek the Kingdom of God first.

This life is short but eternity is forever.

Who are you hanging around?

How is your company
affecting your character?



Scripture Reading

Nehemiah 4:12-15

12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us."

13 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. 14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."

15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.

No comments:

Post a Comment