Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105) Mount
Baker
Beacon Volume 03, Number 12
03/24/2024 Published by
Mt. Baker
church of Christ Location:
1860 Mt. Baker HWY
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 30821
Bellingham, WA 98228
(360) 752-2692 Sunday:
Bible Classes..........9:30 AM
Worship..10:30AM; 6:00PM
Wednesday:
Bible Classes.........7:00 PM
Web site: Mt. Baker church
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Editor......John Bass
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SATAN'S HINDRANCES
Jarrod M. Jacobs When Paul wrote the Romans and Thessalonians; he told them Satan had hindered him from visiting them at one point (Rom. 1:13; I Thess. 2:18). Just as Satan hindered Paul, we can also be hindered in the work of the Lord by Satan. How does he hinder us today?
Unbelief
Satan will hinder some folks by keeping them from believing the gospel. I am reminded of this when reading the parable of the sower. In the parable, the birds come and take the seed from the “wayside ground.” Jesus describes this as Satan stealing the word from folks “lest they should believe and be saved” (Lk. 8:12). The Bible makes it clear that without faith, one cannot be saved (Mk. 16:16b; Heb. 11:6). Therefore, Satan’s hindrance of unbelief can put one on the wrong road before he has a chance to start!
Procrastination
If Satan cannot hinder one through unbelief, he will try procrastination. The Bible says, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Prov. 27:1). Satan whispers, “Go ahead and do what you like, you have plenty of time to be saved when you are older.” Though Paul wrote, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (II Cor. 6:2); Satan says, “Tomorrow is the day of change.” Are we not all guilty at times of putting off what we ought to do?
Satan has won if he can keep us from doing what we know is right. Procrastination is dangerous because it becomes easier every time it is practiced! He may use our friends, family, or job to keep us from obeying God. Therefore, if we procrastinate long enough and lose our souls, Satan will win.
Ignorance
If Satan cannot hinder us from obeying God initially, he will try to hinder our service to God through ignorance. Ignorance is not stupidity, it is being unlearned on a subject. A person may be very intelligent about politics yet ignorant about automobiles. Is he stupid? No, he is unlearned on that subject. It does not bother Satan that we know all about automotives, politics, or any other subject as long as we remain ignorant of God’s word!
How can we keep Satan from hindering us? We must study and read God’s word (II Tim. 2:15; Eph. 3:4). We must pray often (I Thess 5:17; Lk. 18:1). One sure way to keep from being ignorant about God’s word is to know it well enough that we grow and are able to teach the truth to others (II Tim. 2:2).
Discouragement
This is possibly the most powerful tool Satan has! If Satan can discourage us from obeying God, he has won. Knowledge will not matter, faith will not count, and past victories in Christ are nothing if we become discouraged and quit before the race is over. Paul best-defined discouragement when he said, “all hope ... was then taken away” (Acts 27:20). Without hope, man has no reason for living!
There is a cure for discouragement. This cure is the strength we can draw from the brethren (Isa. 35:3-10). Discouraged people will tend to pull back from those who love them, including God! The key to being encouraged is spending time in God’s word, praying, and being around those of like-precious faith. This is why the brethren are so important. They can help us through the discouraging times. They can “provoke one another to love and good works” (Heb. 10:23-25). Read Psalm 73 and learn David’s answer for discouragement. Let us fight discouragement with help from God and our brethren.
Divided Brethren
Satan’s use of divided brethren can stop any church from functioning! We need to fight against division by standing together for the truth (Ps. 133:1). We need to agree on matters of faith (I Cor. 1:10; Eph. 4:1-3). In matters of liberty, we need to have patience with one another (Rom. 14). In all things, we need to love one another as Christ loved us (Jn. 13:34-35).
Now that we know how Satan works let us do all we can to keep Satan from hindering the work of the Lord here (I Pet. 5:8). Top
INNOVATIONS IN WORSHIP
Danny Linden The transition of power from Solomon to his son Rehoboam was anything but smooth. By most standards, Solomon was a wildly successful king who established economic control over the region and built up Israel to new glory. The people were initially united in their support of Rehoboam, but a usurper named Jeroboam worked to spoil that.
Jeroboam was a former official in Solomon’s court who rebelled against Solomon and fled to Egypt (1 Kings 11:26-40). Once Solomon died, Jeroboam returned to take another shot at seizing the throne for himself. Rehoboam handled the situation foolishly and lost control over the majority of the nation. The ten northern tribes anointed Jeroboam as their king and the nation was permanently split in two (12:16-20).
There was significant instability in both nations for a time—the seemingly inevitable war between the two was only avoided because God intervened through the prophet Shemaiah (12:21-24). It doesn’t surprise us that Rehoboam is left picking up the pieces, but even Jeroboam is afraid of losing his grip on the situation. This coup was the result of a tense, emotional situation. Will Israel continue to follow Jeroboam when things cool down or will they revert to what they knew? To preserve his power, Jeroboam introduces new innovations to the people’s worship. Let’s look at how and why these things happen.
Jeroboam’s innovations. Jeroboam makes several changes to how worship will work in Israel. The most visible change is the golden calves that are erected as new objects of worship (12:28). These were Canaanite idols that Jeroboam even credits with Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, echoing Aaron’s sin when Moses was on Mount Sinai (Ex. 32:2-8). God’s wrath in that instance burned hot against Israel and He only restrained Himself from consuming them because of Moses’ intercession on their behalf (Ex. 32:9-14). How do you think God felt when Jeroboam did the same thing?
Jeroboam’s other changes included new places of worship at Dan and Bethel and other shrines on high places (1 Kings 12:29-31), a new priesthood not from the tribe of Levi (12:31), and a new day for the Feast of Booths (12:33; cf. Lev. 23:33-36). These things were done as he “devised from his own heart” (12:33b).
After these changes were made, Israel was left with a religious system that greatly resembled the Mosaic system God gave their fathers. Regardless, the similarities were not enough. They were not in subjection to God and their worship was not pleasing to Him.
Many churches today have fallen into this same trap. Their practices and worship resemble the pattern found in the New Testament, but they nevertheless are altered in key ways. Our responsibility as disciples of Jesus is to obey Him fully in our worship and in everything we do (John 4:24; Heb. 10:26-31).
Rebellious attitude. Why did Jeroboam institute all these changes? Part of the answer is found in his character long before he even became king. He was already prone to rebel against authority. He was once a trusted and capable official but did not have proper respect for his king. He ruined everything about his relationship with King Solomon when instead he could have gained more authority and honor by continuing to serve him well. Is it a coincidence that a rebellious servant of a king would also be a rebellious servant of God?
This is one of the reasons why God requires us to be respectful of every authority. When we practice rebellion, we grow skilled at it! It corrupts the heart and interferes with our ability to submit to God. The practice of submission begins as children learning to obey parents and teachers and extends to our submission to government, bosses, elders, husbands, and even generally to one another. Learn how to submit or suffer the consequences.
Fear and uncertainty. The other reason why Jeroboam introduced his innovations was fear of losing power. If his people go to Jerusalem to worship God alongside the people of Judah, they might just decide they want to be a united people again. They might decide that Rehoboam isn’t so bad after all.
We can be guilty of this same kind of fear. Churches worry about dwindling numbers and a changing culture. Preachers who are financially supported by their congregations wonder how they will put food on the table if the church shrinks too much. The easy answer is to give into that fear and try to change with the culture around us. Churches have introduced myriad innovations to create mass appeal. And so we see churches in the business of entertainment, consumerism, political activism, and many other things. There is still a resemblance to the church of the New Testament—the religious flavor is still there. But in so many important ways, God’s commands have been ignored. We must have faith that God’s word is living and powerful today just as it always has been. This is not the first time in history that culture has resisted God. Those who seek God will find Him, and the word of God is still able to save us from our sins (Is. 55:10-11; Rom. 1:16-17). Top
Created by John Bass, last updated. 03/30/2024 The Mount Baker Beacon is a weekly publication of the Mt. Baker church of Christ, Bellingham, WA.
Send all questions, comments to the editor, John Bass at (360) 325-5149 or johnbass2468@gmail.com |
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