Biblical Talks with Elder Michael Tolliver Podcast
When the term Reformed theology is used, it often refers to something less historical. Often it refers to a theology that acknowledges the doctrine of predestination and holds to a high view of the Bible as God’s inerrant Word. Sometimes it is also identified with the so-called five points of Calvinism: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints. These are all important teachings of the Reformed tradition, but they do not fully encapsulate or describe Reformed theology.
A better starting place is five statements that have been called the five solas of the Reformation. These five solas (sola is the Latin word for “only” or “alone”) are sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), and soli Deo gloria (God’s glory alone). Put together, these solas clearly express the central concerns of the Protestant Reformation, which was about worship and authority within the church as much as it was about individual salvation. The “alone” in each is vital, and they emphasize the sufficiency of God’s Word and the gracious nature of salvation, received by faith alone, in Christ alone. The last of the five solas, soli Deo gloria, is the natural outworking of the first four. It reminds us that Reformed theology understands all of life in terms of the glory of God. To be Reformed in our thinking is to be God-centered. Salvation is from the Lord from beginning to end, and even our existence is a gift from Him.
Biblical Talks with Elder Michael Tolliver Podcast
Sermon of the Week, Pastor Roger Skepple: The Wise Father's Battle Against Gang Influence: Biblical Wisdom for Modern Parents
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Encouragement and praise are essential, for Fathers but what's the difference? Praise focuses on what the child has accomplished. But Encouragement is not about accomplishment, or what the child has achieve. Listen, encouragement says, you are my child and I want to affirm you as my child. You don't have to do anything special, because I love you for who you are. Children need Fathers.
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Welcome to Biblical Talks. Sermon of the Week. The best thing we fathers can do for our sons and daughters is to put our hands on them and bless them in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. There's no way to measure the impact that your blessing can have on your children, that your blessing can have on your children Beloved. We do a lot of encouragement to our children, but let me tell you this that's the difference between encouraging your children and praising them. We praise our children a lot, but we don't always encourage them. Praise focuses on what the child has accomplished, but encouragement is not related to what people achieve. It is tied to who they are. Encouragement says I want to affirm you as my child. You don't have to do anything spectacular. I love you because of who you are, because of who you are. Here's Pastor Roger Sceppo as he talks about the aspects.
Speaker 2:Of a wise father. The Bible says that God gave us grace In such a way that it could only be described as being lavished on us. God drowned us in his grace. His grace was abundant. He has grace, as the song says, for all. God's grace cannot be tapped. Normally, when we think of somebody giving us something, like their time or their effort, they only have so much and then they can't give anymore. Isn't it good to have a God whose resources are untapped? He's got as much for you today as he had yesterday, and he has as much for you tomorrow as he has today. His riches are unfathomable. Praise God.
Speaker 2:If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to the book of Proverbs, the first chapter of that book, the 10th verse of that chapter, proverbs, chapter 1. We'll begin reading in the 10th verse and we'll continue to the 19th verse. Let's stand for the reading of God's word. The Bible says my son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, come with us, let us lie in wait for blood. Let us ambush the innocent without cause. Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, even whole, as those who go down to the pit. We shall find all kinds of precious wealth. We shall fill our houses with spoil. Throw in your lot with us. We shall all have one purse, my son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, for their feet run to evil and they hasten to shed blood. But indeed it is useless to spread the net in the eyes of any bird. But they lie in wait for their own blood. They ambush their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence. It takes away the life of its possessors. Heavenly Father, we pray this morning, as we turn to your Holy Scripture, on this Father's Day, that you would remind us of the importance of our fathers, for those of us who are fathers, for those of us who are to be fathers in the future. Help us to take note of your expectations of us. Give us desires to fulfill those expectations in a way that would honor and glorify you. Teach us today. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated.
Speaker 2:When my father passed away on Christmas Day of 1997, there were a number of things that my father bequeathed to me. They were, of course, all significant and important. One of them, however, was particularly challenging his quadraphonic stereo. Now, for those of you who are too young to know what quadraphonic stood for. This term was basically the 1980s 1990s term for surround sound. He had purchased it a couple of years before he had passed and he had not had an opportunity to unbox it and set it up yet.
Speaker 2:When we moved to Atlanta the next year, it was one of the things that I eventually brought down to our home in Atlanta. I unboxed it and put it in our den with every intention of using it. But you know that what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. Well, it would stay in the den for a number of years, unfunctional. I won't tell you how long, but eventually Teresa came to me one day and said Roger, either get it working or get it out of the house. Like only sweet Teresa could say, the gig was up for me. In other words, now, those of you who know me know that electronics are definitely in my wheelhouse.
Speaker 2:But try as I might, month after month, I just could not get it functioning. And you know what the problem was. There was no manual for the stereo, it had been missed, and, try as I might, I just couldn't get everything functioning the way it should function and I didn't want to call the company to tell them I needed the manual. But I eventually bit the bullet, called the company and confessed my need for the manual. Once I got the manual, I had all I needed to put the stereo together. It was still complicated, it was still difficult, but the manual made the difficult process possible.
Speaker 2:I couldn't help but think of that incident in my life and the reality of fatherhood on this Father's Day. I thought about how many fathers there are who are attempting to be fathers without the manual. Because they don't refer to the manual, they end up trying to cobble together fatherhood, to jury rig it, in hopes that it will one day come out okay. And that's for those who are genuinely interested in fathering the children they produced. What about all those fathers in our culture who have abandoned their responsibility, have told their children by their actions that they don't rate enough to care for them and their mother? Instead, they have left their children's mothers to fend for themselves and their children to fend for themselves and their children. You see, fatherhood needs a manual and without it a father will be left to his own devices, devices which are oftentimes ineffective and inadequate for accomplishing what fatherhood demands. So where does a father find the manual for fatherhood? Well, the same place that the mother finds the manual for motherhood.
Speaker 2:The Bible, the scriptures, are the only trustworthy source for the important information necessary to properly execute parenting in a manner that has God's backing behind it. Now understand something the Bible is not trying to guarantee the outcome of your parenting. It's trying to get you to parent in the way that God wants you to parent. Those are two different things. You can parent the way God wants you to parent, but the child must at some point make a choice to follow Christ. Your job is to do what God tells you to do. So the scriptures provide the necessary backing for us. But I want to get even more particular with you this morning. While the Bible as a whole serves as a manual on how a man is to approach the realities of fatherhood, the book of Proverbs in particular was written as a parenting manual for both fathers and mothers. Proverbs was the divine source to which the fathers of Israel would return to receive guidance, motivation and a blueprint of how they could approach the task of being dad. And a blueprint of how they could approach the task of being dad A couple of years ago for our Father's Day series, I began looking at the aspects of a wise father from the book of Proverbs.
Speaker 2:So far, we have looked at the fact that he is an advocate in the home for wisdom. One thing a father does is he gives wisdom to those who are in his house. The second thing we saw last year was that not only is he an advocate for wisdom in the house, but he also practices godly reproof. A father who doesn't discipline is a father who is not being a biblical father. You must discipline your children.
Speaker 2:This morning I would like to begin with you a little mini-series over the next few Father's Days. Lord willing, that will focus upon the concerns of a wise father, the concerns of a wise father, the concerns of a wise father, the concerns. Now, the source of this particular subject comes from my meditations and thoughts on fatherhood in Proverbs and how the book highlighted or focused on certain subjects that the father should take the initiative to engage his children about, particularly his sons about it. Now, some of these well, all of these are applicable to daughters as well, but in the book of Proverbs, the illustration is given of a father speaking to his sons. The concerns I want to focus upon are the negative influences listen to me now the negative influences that the father sought to equip his son to resist. A father understands something His children are growing up in a world that has negative influences that seek to impact and draw their children in. So how is a father to stand in the gap For his children, how is he to be a defense To the world trying to break into his house and take control of his children? There are some concerns. There are some concerns that a wise father has. Now, if you're not wise, skip it, but for those of us who are wise, there are some concerns that Proverbs highlights that we should have. This morning I want to begin this little mini-series and hopefully next year we'll continue it, lord willing.
Speaker 2:This year we're going to look at the attraction of gangs. The attraction of gangs. I want to be clear this morning church. The pull of the gang did not begin in modern day Chicago. God warned of the attraction of these types of human associations or affiliations to even his people in the Old Testament. We think that organized groups executing a smash and grab are somehow new, but they were things that the father in Proverbs was concerned about. Don't get tied into the folks who were doing the smashing and the grabbing. Don't lock in with them. Don't allow them to pull you in and suck you in. The pull of the gang is intense and our children must be particularly guided in how and why to avoid that pull. And when you understand it, it's all over the Bible.
Speaker 2:You know how the book of Psalms begins right In Psalm chapter 1, verse 1.
Speaker 2:How does it begin?
Speaker 2:How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. Don't get hooked up with the gang. Listen to God in Isaiah, chapter 3, verse 12, as he highlights a culture out of control. How do you know a culture is out of control? Listen to what he says in Isaiah 3, verse 12. Oh, my people, their oppressors are children and women rule over them. Oh, my people, those who guide you, lead you astray and confuse the direction of your paths. Did you see the first sign there of a broken culture? The very first sign of a broken culture is the adults are oppressed by the children. I've been in a car before and a gang of folks start walking by, lock my door. Don't act like you don't know what they're talking about here. You know what God is talking about. You see it on the news all the time. When all the supposed protests are taking place and the stores are being looted, who's doing the looting children? When the carjackings are taking place, who are the ones doing the jacking Children? So much of the crime in our country is taking place. In our culture is perpetuated by minors or people who have just grown out of being a minor. Many of them are tied in some way to gangs or gang-like groups. But gangs are dangerous not just to other people, which is enough to say don't get involved, but gangs are dangerous to the people in the gangs themselves. What do you mean, pastor?
Speaker 2:Turn to 2 Kings, chapter 2. It's all in the Bible 2 Kings, chapter 2. In this chapter we have the transition from Elijah to Elisha, with the spirit of Elijah resting on Elisha in chapter 2, verse 15. As Elisha traveled up from Bethel, we have the following account Listen to verse 23 of 2nd Kings, chapter 2. Then he went up from there to Bethel and as he was going up, by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said go up, you bald head. Go up you bald head. Now stop there for a second.
Speaker 2:The parents of these young people let them go out that day to meet their friends, expecting that they would come home. Okay, when they said they wanted to go out and hang with their buddies, they thought they were going to hang out around the house and then come back a little bit later, safe and sound. But look at what happened to these young people, verse 24. When he, elisha, looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up 42 lads of their number. Oh, this is a well-stocked gang, 42 people or more. But this well-stocked gang couldn't handle two sheep. Bears Tore them up.
Speaker 2:Hanging with the gang is not just dangerous for other people, it's dangerous for the people in the gang. You're putting your own life into question here. No, no, church Gangs are not just dangerous to others, they're also dangerous to those who are part of them. It's no wonder. It's no wonder. It's no wonder the father said in Proverbs, chapter 1, verses 10 through 19,. Let me read it for you again, my son listen to the father's concern.
Speaker 2:If sin is enticed, you do not consent. If they say come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause, let us swallow them alive like Sheol, even whole as those who go down to the pit. We shall find all kinds of precious wealth. We shall fill our houses with spoil. Throw in your lot with us. We shall have, we shall all have one purse, my son, my son. Do not walk in the way with us. We shall have, we shall all have one purse, my son, my son. Do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, for their feet, for their feet, for their feet run to evil and they hasten to shed blood. Indeed, it is useless to spread the net in the eyes of a bird, but they lie in wait for their own blood. They ambush their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence. It takes away the life of its possessors.
Speaker 2:As the godly father takes up the issue of the attraction of gangs with his son, we see three points here this morning. I want to draw your attention. He alerts them to the truth about these gangs in verse 10, and then in verses 11 through 14, he exposes those things that are the most attractive about the gangs the promises the gang offers to those who adhere to them. And then, finally, in verse 15 through 19, the father exhorts his son to resist the draw. Resist the draw, Hold yourself back from the enticement. Let's look first at verse 10. He opens with these words my son, if sinners entice, you, do not consent. Here we see the truth about these gangs.
Speaker 2:The individuals of whom the father was concerned and wanted his son to be alerted to were ultimately just a group of sinners. A group of sinners the Hebrew term here referred to the person who missed the mark. Their behavior missed the intent of the Lord God, particularly his law. The father had no doubt taught his son the biblical worldview, including sinners and saints. But now the son has reached a point in his life when the father wants his son to know hey look, sinners are coming for you. It's no longer an abstract. These are sinners, these are saints. I want you to know something, son the sinners are looking to get you, they're coming after you.
Speaker 2:And this father wanted his older children to be aware of the fact that sinners were not just gunning for adults. No, so many young people think that religion and Christianity that's for my parents. That's for older people. Let me tell you something the devil wants you while you're young, because if he gets you while you're young, in all likelihood you'll never get out of his grasp when you're old. Don't be so foolish, young people, as to think somehow Satan only wants to get your mom and dad. No, he wants you, he's coming for you and he's not going to be satisfied until he has you in his control. A good dad makes this thing personal. They're coming for you. Son, makes this thing personal. They're coming for you, son. Sin and its temptation was not something that the son would only have to worry about when he grew up, or the daughter when she grew up. Oh, no, no, no, no, not at all. The father wanted his children to be aware of the fact that sinners would be aiming for them as well. They would seek to entice them.
Speaker 2:Our text says this is a rather interesting Hebrew word. This word entice here literally meant to be open. In an intellectual sense, it spoke of an openness of mind to external influences. Listen to that An openness of mind to external influences. These are influences that come to us from the outside, that try to impact us. Although it could be used positively and talk about the idea of persuade. Oftentimes this was a negative word and it meant to lure or to deceive. Don't allow sinners to deceive you, to lure you, to hook you on the line, to get you to begin operating by that which is not real, that which is not real. Parents, it's not just about telling our children what to do and not to do. It's letting them know about the deceptiveness of even people who claim to be their friends. Sometimes, if your friend is not pointing you to Jesus, then he's pointing you to the devil you got to understand what's going on out there.
Speaker 2:The father knew that his children would be open game for those who were intent on living outside the will and way of God. The parent listen the parent who assumes safety rather than assumes danger will always be caught off guard. I have to confess, sometimes, as a parent, I was caught off guard. I'll be honest. I just didn't know. You mean, there are four and five of you doing that. If you assume safety, you're going to be caught off guard. You should assume danger.
Speaker 2:The father lets his son know that they're coming for him and they're coming for her and he admonishes them do not consent when they come, when they come to deceive you, when they come to entice you, don't consent, don't say yes, don't acquiesce. The concept of consent basically means to accept something, but there are different reasons for accepting things. Some things can be accepted because those things are pleasing or desired by the person accepting them. However, some things can be accepted due to the coercive power of someone or something. Here the idea in this context is something outside of the individual, drawing them in, coercing them in a certain direction. Man, our friends are such a strong pull. I went to public school. I was a public school kid. The things that were going on in the 1970s were horrific. What's going on now puts that to shame the amount of pressure from people you hang with at school that attempt to draw you into their sphere of wickedness. Parenting y'all is a full-time job. Earning y'all is a full-time job.
Speaker 2:The father warns his sons that don't consent. Know what they're going to do to you before it happens. Know they're coming for you trying to draw you in, and make sure that you don't consent when they come. What you're doing after class? Everybody's going. Fill in the blank. What you're going to do when they do that? Everybody on that college campus isn't Christian. Every Monday in that high school isn't Christian. Everybody in that Christian school isn't Christian. When they want to see if you're going to run with them, what's your response going to be? The father says hey look, don't consent. They're coming, that's a guarantee. But that doesn't mean you've got to follow. They're coming, but that doesn't mean you have to acquiesce. Know what you're dealing with. Hmm, a father concerned with rearing children not drawn into gangs must paint a very real picture of their attempts to pull them into their orbit. But just warning them won't be good enough. These general directions now become very specific in verses 11-14, as the father seeks to help them to understand the enticement, understand the enticement.
Speaker 2:In these next four verses, the father will focus on the promise, the promise that gangs hold out to their participants. How do they entice people? How does one entice people? You entice somebody by painting a positive scenario that would be attractive to the person that you're aiming to get. No-transcript Power, wealth, companionship, all the stuff we want. The gang says we got it for you.
Speaker 2:First, verses 11 through 12, the promise of power. Listen to this If they say come along with us. Let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let us waylay some harmless soul, let us swallow them alive like the grave and whole, like those who go down to the pit. Listen to what they're saying. Listen to what they're saying. The father had talked about enticing and now he expresses what type of things the son can expect to hear from those who are already engaged with the gangs.
Speaker 2:First off, the gang lets it be known that they will exert their power over the harmless soul, over the harmless soul. This is the person who has no defense for themselves, the innocent. Our text says the innocent. Our text says the innocent, the harmless person. It was not the guilty or those who were blameworthy that they would go after, but simply people in the neighborhood over which they could exert their force. They weren't going gang against gang. They were going to deal with people that they could overpower Innocent people minding their own business. That's the people they were going to take out. The idea of laying in wait here our text says hiding, ready to ambush people. One version talks about waylaying, hiding themselves, disguising themselves in order to jump on these people. What's the purpose behind this? What are they waylaying? What are they wailing? What are they ambushing? Notice they're ambushing people so that they can get their blood, their blood. This is expressed in the next statement, when they're promised that they're going to swallow people alive in the shield Whole he says whole as those who go down to the pit.
Speaker 2:The only time that this took place was when God opened up the ground and swallowed whole Korah and all those who disobeyed God. With Korah, god just opened up the earth. I mean, can you imagine? You just watch it. Korah says you know, we know God too. We should be able to offer sacrifice. God said okay, bring your stuff tomorrow and come over here. So they brought out their pans. They put the little fire in the pan they're going to offer to God. And the choice was between Moses and Aaron or between Korah and his followers. God had chosen Moses, but Korah didn't like it. God said, okay, everybody, move away from Korah. That's when you know trouble getting ready to happen. And when they moved away, god opened up the earth and swallowed Korah, all of his followers, the women, the children, the tents, and they closed up the earth. And what the Bible said? All the Israelites were scrambling to get away. Yeah, can you imagine standing on the edge of that? Oh, no, no, no, I'm going in the other direction.
Speaker 2:But listen to what these gangs say. We're going to do that. We're going to do that. We're going to swallow people whole. You haven't seen us operating yet. These people are prideful about their power. They're going to control people and they're going to enforce their will on others.
Speaker 2:Hmm, these young men seeking to gain the son's participation promise him that he will be a force to be reckoned with. Society won't be able to disregard you anymore because you're young. They'll fear you and know that you hold real power. Listen to what the gangs are offering them. Every young man wants significance and importance, and the gangs offer him just that very thing. The father warns his son that his significance and his importance is not found in ignoring God's will, but embracing God's will. Don't be trapped by the group of young people wanting to exercise their power and authority in unbiblical ways, using it against the text, says the innocent. That wasn't all that they're promising.
Speaker 2:Look at verse 13. We shall find all kinds of precious wealth. We shall fill our houses with spoil. Promise them, promise wealth. They promise reward of all kinds of precious wealth. They promised reward of all kinds of precious wealth. The statement seems general at first. They will happen upon or they'll discover they'll find wealth.
Speaker 2:The idea of wealth here basically meant substance or fill. Don't think of currency so much as that which held significance in that culture. This is manifested by the fact that they would fill their houses with these things. The idea of spoil is the idea of things. They're going to take other people's things and make them their own, even if they've got to kill them for it. They see what they want. They take it, and who are you to stop them? Consider for a moment this morning the gang's perversion of reality. These people are so perverted, man. They're so mixed up. Just look at how perverted their reality is.
Speaker 2:Turn to Proverbs 24, verses 3-4. Proverbs 24, verses 3-4. Proverbs 24, verses 3-4. Listen to what it says. They talking about filling their houses with wealth through blood, money through blood, through taking what belongs to other people. Listen to what Proverbs says. Proverbs 24, verses 3-4. By wisdom a house is built. You hear that man. These gangs are mixed up and messed up. By wisdom a house is built and through understanding it is established. Listen to this. Through knowledge, its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. The word rare here is the same word, translated wealth, or sorry, that's translated precious. Back in Proverbs 1, verse 13. Same word. The gang does not present reality as it truly is. They hold out to the young man that they can attain what is worth having in this life by wicked means. That's mixed up. That's mixed up. That's mixed up. They say you can have what this world offers you if you take my means to get it. That's mixed up.
Speaker 2:Rather than providing for themselves, as God intended, what do gangs do? They abuse other people. They exploit other people's labor rather than working and benefiting from their own labor. Energies that should have been spent, based on the word of God in providing for themselves, they use to plot the demise of others. Rather than developing skills and using those skills to provide for their needs, they rob others of the fruit of their skills and the fruit of their labors. You're working like a dog, sacrificing and doing what you're supposed to do. What does the gang do? They come and take your stuff. That's whack, that's crazy. Here you are laboring, doing what God wants you to do, working for the benefit of your family, and it's your stuff they steal. You sacrificed, built the store, went to sleep late, woke up early, labored till your hands were bleeding, and they break into your shop and steal your stuff. That's what the gangs do. Rather than using their time and effort and skills to care for themselves, as the Bible says, they try to get off your stuff.
Speaker 2:God had told his people in the law that he was the one who provided for them a means by which they might gain wealth, but this required following a biblically normative pathway. Listen to God's statement to the second generation after the exodus from Egypt in Deuteronomy 8, 18. God says but remember the Lord, your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth. Remember the Lord, your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. But what do sinners do, those who miss the mark of God's law? They don't abide by God's way.
Speaker 2:Rather than living according to the dictates of humanity, the order of society and, most importantly, the will and word of the Lord, gangs repudiate those things and endanger and destroy the lives of other people. The father tells the son don't listen to that stuff. The promise of power, the promise of power, the promise of wealth, money and the kudegra, the promise of companionship verse 14. Listen to what they tell the son, listen, listen, listen. Throw in your lot with us. We shall all have one purse. Listen to them.
Speaker 2:Here is the climactic promise the gang holds out to the young person a connection, a family of sorts. The call to throw in your lot is the terminology used by those describing the casting of lots, or the idea of chance, or the idea of destiny. The gang beckons the son to identify with them, to link their destiny with them. We're going somewhere, we're gonna be somebody. You come with us. Link your destiny to where we're going. Go with us, run with us. The gang beckons the son to connect with them and then they say we'll all have one purse. We'll all have one purse. Don't think of a woman's purse. That's not the point this time. I trust Fellowship Compensate. We trust each other so much in this gang that we're not hiding our money. All of us have a common purse and we're all living from the same thing, living the same way.
Speaker 2:The gang promises the son that they will help him. All of us have a common purpose and we all living from the same thing, living the same way. The gang promises the son that they will help him to see where he fits in in life. Isn't that what we all want to know, right? We all want to know what we ought to be, where we ought to fit, what we can expect in our life. The gang tells the son that they have the answer and it is found in connecting with them. If the son would just plug in with them, they would find their place in life.
Speaker 2:I was at the place that this son is at in my life. All of us were trying to figure out where we fit in, what we were supposed to do, who we were supposed to be, and the gangs come along at that prime time and say, hey, look, we got something for you. Tie your destiny to us, link in with us. We're going to set you on the right pathway. We'll have one purse. This tells the son that his future needs will be cared for in the gang. Don't worry about it. Look, we got one purse, you're good to go. We're going to take care of you, no matter what part you play, as long as you're with us, as long as you're connected to us, you're taken care of. The gang promises a level of future security. They promise the world, but it's something else that they're going to actually produce. You're taking care, but what the son doesn't know, that the father's informing him in, is this You're being led straight to destruction. I know your friends are promising you the world, but what they're going to give you is death.
Speaker 2:Look as the father transitions now in verses 15 through 19, to encourage his son, his children, to resist the draw, resist the pull, resist the pull. To resist the draw, resist the pull, resist the pull. You know the world tells us that fathers are an unnecessary aspect of a healthy family. As I was watching a news program a few months ago, they were showing an old interview where a group of single mothers were being interviewed regarding family and their children, particularly surrounding the idea of fatherhood. In fact, some of them were pregnant at the time of the interview. Many of the young women sitting in that circle voiced the idea that they did not need a father in their child's life because they were able to raise them and give them all that. They did not need a father in their child's life because they were able to raise them and give them all that they needed. While I have no doubt that many a single mother has done an incredible job of raising their kids, there's one thing I can say with great confidence that's not the design or intent of God that I do know. Just as children need a mother, so they need a father.
Speaker 2:Not a feminized male. I mean an actual father who smells like a man, looks like a man, acts like a man and is manly. What I mean is somebody who was born a man Sad, we got to say in our culture today. I'm not talking about somebody who chooses to be a man because they're not a man, they're a woman. I'm talking about somebody who is a man. And let me just say something on the side here. Let me just make a side note.
Speaker 2:The idea of toxic masculinity was created by misdirected and ignorant feminists. If you don't understand what a woman is to be, how in the world can you tell me what a man's supposed to be? Can you figure out what you're supposed to be doing? First, church you've heard me teaching this in the past. But don't let people trick you into believing that male headship, which is biblical, is no different than male domination or male superiority, which is unbiblical. Real men please check in here. Real, real men lead their homes, not belittle, dominate or discount their wives. That's not a real man, amen. A real man respects his wife, puts her on a pedestal, serves for her benefit, loves her as Christ loves the church. He's a loving leader. But our children need real men, not feminized men.
Speaker 2:One of the ways in which the male influence is felt the most, or at least should be felt the most, is in the area of exhortation and admonition. Here the father directs his children on how to avoid these enticements to power, wealth and companionship. Listen to our passage here, verses 15 through 19. My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their paths, for their feet run to evil and they hasten to shed blood. Indeed, it is useless to spread the net in the eyes of any bird, but they lie in wait for their own blood. They ambush their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who gains by bonds. It takes away the life of its possessors.
Speaker 2:First the father tells his son what he should do. Then he tells him why he should do it. What should he do? Verse 15. In essence, this is much like the general exhortation that opened up this section in verse 10. He said he must not walk in the way with them. Then he repeats himself and says you must keep your feet from their path. He's basically describing what it means to not consent from verse 10. In verse 10, he said don't consent. What does he mean by don't consent? He means don't walk in the way, keep your feet from their path. The gang is on a certain pathway, a pathway of their own choosing. The son is exhorted here not to get on that pathway with them.
Speaker 2:The son has a choice to make and it ultimately cannot be made for him as much protection as our parents afforded us throughout our childhood. Eventually, there's going to come a time when the child would have to choose their associations for themselves. We went through that. There came a time when mom and dad couldn't protect you anymore and you had to choose who you were going to run with, whose voices you were going to listen to. Oh, your dad. Your dad is crazy man. Let's ignore that. Do what we tell you to do. Don't even worry, your mom has no sense. People don't do that anymore. We don't live that way anymore. This is 2023.
Speaker 2:And they attempt to draw you in to their mindset and their thinking mindset and their thinking. At some point, you'll no longer be able to be sheltered and safeguarded by your parents. Choices and not only will you have to make choices yourself. Here's the downer You're going to have to live with the consequences of your choice. See, there was a time when mom and dad could bail you out, but they're not going to be able to bail you out anymore. Those decisions that you made, the ideas that you got in your mind, the people you listened to those consequences you're not going to have to live, I'm sorry to say.
Speaker 2:Your mom and dad are trying to keep you from having to scramble, because some of us have made a life of scrambling, right, let's be honest, mom and dad. Right, some of us have had to scramble Because we made choices. We made decisions we ought not have made. We should have followed through on what was right, but we listened to the voices. They weren't good voices. And now we've had to scramble. We've become experts at it. We're trying to save you from that. Don't listen, that's up to you. I'll see you in 20 years Scrambling, trying to make the pieces fit together.
Speaker 2:Listen, listen. The father says Take note, don't get on the pathway with them. They're on this pathway. Don't jump on the pathway, don't go the way they're going. The father's approach here is to provide for his child a series of important reasons why his choice should be to reject the call or the draw of the group.
Speaker 2:Let me just say this Don't raise your hand. It doesn't have to be a gang that's toting guns and knives. Sometimes it's just a group of people at school, right? How many of us have followed the group at school and done something that was just ignorant? It was stupid to do it. Why did we do it? Because everybody else was doing it, and then we're the ones to pay for it. No, I didn't see them. I saw you. No, no, no, I saw you do that and you're the one that gets in trouble.
Speaker 2:When are you going to learn to stand on your own for Jesus Christ, rather than going with the group, rather than going with the guy? Oh, you don't know Jesus Christ. That's the problem. I forgot, sorry. You have to turn from your sin, repent from your sin and embrace Jesus Christ. When you become a Christian, you will then have the strength to say no, no, guarantee you're going to say no, but you have the strength to say no.
Speaker 2:So what does the Father say here? What's the why? Verses 16-19. The Father builds a case. Father builds a case. He builds a case that the consequences of the gang will be the destruction of those who are in the gang in the first place. Interestingly, just as the gang possesses a common purse, so the gang is bound for a common outcome. So the gang is bound for a common outcome. Like every pathway, there is a conclusion to the pathway that the gang is on.
Speaker 2:The first aspect of the reason given is a summary statement. Verse 15 says For their feet run the evil and they hasten to shed blood. Now the gang had said we're going to lay in wait for blood. They looked at it as their strength. We're going to gang up on the innocent. We're going to take over people who think they can't. We're going to express our power over other people. So they were looking at their waiting for blood as a strength. The father says that's weakness, the very thing they're counting on their power to do. God's going to turn that bad boy around on them and their power is actually their weakness. Their strength was, in all reality, the beginning of their demise.
Speaker 2:The father refers to them as evil. They run the evil. The word evil here translates the Hebrew term that had a wide range of meanings. It could be used to describe anything From physical death To an abnormality of the body or moral injury to the spirit or to a relationship. The father is using this term To describe, to convey the idea of a moral injury Sin.
Speaker 2:Listen. Sin inflicted what God defined as an injury or injuries of moral magnitude upon another. But the injurious nature of the act was also directed against God as well. God is injured by your sin. You know, sometimes you'd be talking to a young person, your son or daughter, and they look at sinful behavior. Well, that doesn't impact anybody, it impacts God. It impacts God. Don't rule him out.
Speaker 2:You remember that when Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he told them to ask for forgiveness. But listen to what he says in Matthew 6, verse 12. He says forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors, our debts before God. When you sin, it's not just relationships on earth that are impacted. God is impacted.
Speaker 2:When you sin, you owe a debt to God. An unsaved person owes a debt to God. An unsaved person owes a debt to God, a debt that they cannot pay for on their own, which is why the lake of fire was created. That's the place that sinners debts are paid off. The problem is, you have to pay it off forever. It's an eternal payment. Thank God, jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, but guess what he did? He washed it white as snow.
Speaker 2:You better jump on board of the Jesus train If you don't know Jesus today. You better become a Christian today, because you don't know what your life holds tomorrow. And your life, your decisions, your thoughts, your attitudes, your actions are accumulating a debt, not to people, but to God himself, and one day you're going to have to pay for your debt. You're going to pay for it. And what we don't want you to do is pay for it forever in hell. We don't want that. We don't want that. We don't want that. Avoid that at all costs. Run to Jesus, he'll forgive you Of your debt. The worst thing you have done To hurt another person, jesus can forgive. The worst thing you've done to yourself. Guess what Jesus can forgive you of that too.
Speaker 2:Notice, back in our text, the father painted a picture of the energy and enthusiasm which the gangs approach their actions. You see, church, the gang is neither trapped in their behavior nor deceived into their behavior. They've made a conscious choice to pursue this way of life and they're pursuing it enthusiastically. The father says uses the word run here in the first half of this verse. This referred to the physical act of running, but could also specify the idea of doing so quickly and thus the attitude with which something is approached. They're approaching this, this energet. This is reinforced by the concept of hasten. They hasten to do this. The father then gave some further instruction that at first, on the surface, seems a little strange. Notice he says indeed, it is useless to spread the net in the eyes of any bird. What in the world is? I mean, we're talking about gangs. What are you talking about birds? For all of a sudden, what's he doing here?
Speaker 2:A hunter who's seeking his prey disguises the trap from the animal. When you're fishing, you don't just drop a hook in the water. You tie a worm on that hook Because you want to entice the fish to bite. Look what it says in verse 17, as he removes the image and just tells you the straight up truth Verse 17. They lie in wait for their own blood. They ambush their own lives. There, it is there. It is there it is. They thought they were going to get over on other people. Guess what? Eventually, they're going to pay the price for what they did. God says I got you, I see you, I see what you're doing. And guess what? Your time's coming. Your time's coming Because God is laying a trap. He's using them to trap themselves. He's using them to set their own trap. They're baiting their own hook and then they're going to bite the hook. A wise son should take note of this. The gang thought that they were exerting power over others, but in all actuality they were baiting themselves. All the gang's clever tricks and traps they were actually sending for themselves and not for other people.
Speaker 2:There are so many biblical concepts here that are just proven by this text. In 1 Corinthians 15, verse 33, it says Do not be deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals. Now, of course, in 1 Corinthians 15, the emphasis is theological error. But whether it's theological or practical, it's all the same. You will become like the people you run with. That's what the Bible says. Run with those type of people. Guess what? You're going to be fine. You're going to wake up and say why am I living this way? Because of who you're hanging with. It doesn't take a rocket scientist. This is why it's so incredibly important to choose your associates carefully. The people you connect with you're going to look like. You're going to be that same way Father's concerned for his children.
Speaker 2:But there's another principle here. In Proverbs 14, 12, it says there's a way that seems right to a man. Guess what the end of that way is? Straight up, death. Nobody gets on the death pathway knowingly. You think it's leading to life. You're thinking that this pathway that's real living. Mom and dad are just tired old folks. I want to live and you think you're on the living pathway. But guess what? That pathway that you're on is driving you straight to death, and it shouldn't be a surprise, because Proverbs 21, 22 says all a man's way seems right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart. You can get over on mom and dad, but you know who you can't get over on. You can't get over on God, and God's got a balance. He's weighing it. And God's got a balance, he's weighing it. You best do business with God.
Speaker 2:A faithful father warns his children of the importance of doing business with God. The father is trying to warn his son about death. Now, at first I was thinking is this eternal death? He's warning him about no, no, no, no, no Physical death. But aren't we all going to die at some point? Well, yeah, but the father is concerned about untimely death. All of us are going to die, absolutely. We may die doing good things. The father is concerned about untimely death, death directly attributed to your bad choices, son. That's what the dad's concerned about. We can't stop death, but we can stop unwise decisions, decisions the father says in verse 19, that take the life of its possessors. So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence, who gains by violence. It takes away the life of its possessors.
Speaker 2:Interestingly, the father has made one more point here that I want to highlight before I close. It's a sub-point, it's subtle, but it's powerful. You see, we all know that gangs are marked by violence. We know that. We know that gangs take advantage of those in the community who are weak and cannot defend themselves. We understand that. We know that gangs offer a camaraderie between people. Yes, we know that.
Speaker 2:But church, this is not Robin Hood that we're talking about here. You know Robin Hood and his merry men who stole from the corrupt rich and gave to the poor. There's no such altruism here in a gang. You know what drives the gang Raw greed. This statement here by the father is interesting because the phrase gains by violence is a phrase that the father doubles up the idea of gaining by inadequate or by wrong means. And so the father has put emphasis at the end of verse 18 on the idea of acting out of greed. It's to gain by illicit gain, it's to gain motivated by greed. He doubles up his point. He doubles up his point, driving home the idea that what drives the gang is self and selfishness. They're not out for your best interests, oh, they're out for the one person, but they're going to stab you in the back as soon as you get a choice. When the cops finally come, they're going to turn state's evidence on you, right?
Speaker 2:Some of us have been in that type of situation. Us and our friends did something we shouldn't do and we thought our homies was our homies. What we found out was man, they let you go quick. I don't know why she did that. I don't know why, but we best. I don't know how he did that. You know what. You ought to punish him. They drop you quick. Why? Because they're out for self. There's no altruism here. Because they're out for self. There's no altruism here.
Speaker 2:I'm reminded of what I heard a couple of years ago as an explanation of the smash and grabs, shoplifting and stealing that was going on during the protests a few summers ago. And stealing that was going on during the protests a few summers ago, people actually claimed that the stealing was a form of listen to this economic justice, economic justice. Young people, ancestors of slaves who were stealing as a form of reparation for their ancestors being enslaved. So stealing that big screen television was because of slavery they use in biblical terms, justice, economic justice, biblical terms, justice, economic justice. When society allows and even justifies the stealing of private property and then defines it as justice. The culture has definitely disintegrated and words no longer mean anything. Proverbs doesn't label it as justice. Proverbs labels it as greed. The father says these gangs are operating strictly out of the greed idea and a lot of that.
Speaker 2:Final point, I just want to make one last consideration this morning in your hearing. Last consideration this morning in your hearing. Jesus warned humanity that it was very possible to gain the whole world, but to lose your soul. I would have you consider this morning the danger that Jesus spoke of. Do you realize that the gang holds out promise of wealth and profit and for a time the gang may come to possess those things. However, what will be the ultimate outcome of their gaining? They'll lose their soul. Don't lose yours along with it.
Speaker 2:Heavenly Father, we give you thanks today for the clarity of your word. We thank you for the warning that we have received. We pray, lord God, for us as fathers. Today, this is Father's Day. Help us to do a good job of warning our children, not allowing them, lord God, just to simply go into these poor relationships without a call to stop. Lord God, let us, as fathers, step up to the plate, do what we're supposed to do in our households. I pray for those of us who are maybe we're out of the direct fathering, but we have grandchildren. We can be influential in their lives. Calling them, lord God, to be careful of these deceptive relationships. I pray, heavenly Father, for the young people here today, that they would realize that they're as much a target of Satan as their parents are. He's after them big time. I pray, heavenly Father, you would help them to see their need to turn their lives over to Christ, to repent and believe on Jesus. I pray, lord God, that you would accomplish these things for your glory's sake. I pray.
Speaker 3:In Jesus' name, amen. Hello, my name is Michelle Tolliver and Biblical Talk's book offer for the month of June is Amen. Its extent reaches down to the flight of electrons, up to the movements of the galaxies and into the heart of man. Its nature is wise, just and good, and its goal is the Christ-exalting glorification of God through the gladness of a redeemed people in a new world. Drawing on a lifetime of theological reflection, biblical study and practical ministry, pastor and author John Piper leads us on a stunning tour of the sightings of God's providence, from Genesis to Revelations, to discover the all-encompassing reality of God's purposeful sovereignty over all creation and all history. Piper invites us to experience the profound effects of knowing the God of all pervasive providence, the intensifying of true worship, the solidifying of wavering conviction, the strengthening of embattled faith, the toughening of joyful courage and the advance of God's mission in this world. For any amount of donation to Biblical Talks, we will send you the book. Please go to biblicaltalkscom and click the Donate here tab. Thank you for listening to Biblical Talks.
