“Stay Away From Useless Things” (10 min.)
We Christians are expected to reject everything bad immediately, that this is our "Automatic Reaction." When the doctor hits the tendon just below the knee with a hammer, the leg is instantly extended automatically. It is a reflex action; we don't think about whether we are going to do it or not. Similarly, when temptations arise, the Christian with a pure heart and a Bible-educated conscience automatically rejects evil, but what if our heart and conscience are not Bible-educated. That is what happened to a man named Achan, he allowed himself to be seduced by what he saw and his actions showed that his heart and conscience was not educated by the Bible.
The Israelites had received the Divine mandate that, when they conquered the city of Jericho, they destroy everything except certain objects that would go to Jehovah's treasury, but what did Achan do? Please turn to your copy of the Bible and Let's look together in the Biblical Record of Joshua Chapter 7 and Verse 1 and 21. It says: But the Israelites were not faithful with what had been reserved for destruction, since Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, kept some of what was reserved for the destruction. And verse 21, there it mentions: When I saw among the loot a very beautiful official Sinara garment, 200 shekels of silver and a gold ingot that weighed 50 shekels, I wanted them, so I took them. Now they're hiding on the ground inside my tent
That's right Brothers, Achan kept some of what was reserved for destruction, disobeyed and took various luxurious items, causing the Israelites to be defeated in the city of Ai and suffered heavy casualties. And something interesting that the information mentions is that Achan I hope the theft comes to light to confess his guilt, which gives an important lesson to each of us, that we should not wait to be discovered to recognize our sins, already let Jehovah take it upon himself to bring them to light.
Now, what can we say about the consequences, now we are going to read verses 4 and 5 and verses 24 to 26 of the same Book of Josue, if I find it, please accompany me with the reading, He says, verse 4 and 5: From So about 3,000 went up, but had to flee from the men of Ai.a 5 The men of Ai killed 36 men; They pursued the Israelites from the city gate to Sebarim, and continued to defeat them on the way down. Therefore, the heart of the people melted and became like water. Now let's read verses 24 to 26 it mentions: Joshua and all Israel then took Achan son of Zérah along with the silver, the official garment, the gold ingot, b his sons, his daughters, his bull, his donkey, his flock, his tent, and all that was his, and they brought them up to the valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said: “Why have you caused us this disaster? Today Jehovah will lead you to disaster ”. Then all Israel stoned him to death; then they burned them in the fire. They stoned all of them. 26 And they laid on it a great heap of stones that is still there to this day. At this, Jehovah's fiery fury subsided, which is why this place is still called the Valley of Achor to this day.
With his act of disobedience Achan harmed his family and the entire nation of Israel, as already mentioned, what he did caused the Israelites to be defeated in the city of Ai and suffered numerous casualties and At that, Jehovah became very angry with the Israelites . Nowadays, we can learn from this bad example, that if something similar happened, not only the person who committed the sin would be affected, but also family members and even the congregation, so what should we do if a similar situation occurs? In this case, it is not advisable to disclose this matter to those who do not have the authority and duty to supervise and correct the matters, in other words we must be cautious and report this matter to the Elders of the congregation.
And what can we say about ourselves? Are we immune to falling into the lust of the eyes? Of course not! True Christians are not immune to the lust of the eyes and the flesh. For this reason, the Word of God encourages us to control very carefully what we see and desire, and this text is found in 1 John 2: 15-17 that I invite you to read, it says: Do not love the world or the things that are there. in the world. If someone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.16 Because nothing in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the ostentation of the things one has - comes from the Father, but it comes from the world. 17 Furthermore, the world is leaving, and its desires as well, but the one who does God's will lives forever.
Someone who understood very well the relationship between sight and desire was Job, who said: “I have made a covenant with my eyes. So how could I be attentive to a virgin? This righteous man not only refused to touch any woman with immoral intentions. I didn't even want to fondle the idea! Centuries later, in the Gospel of Matthew. 5:28, Jesus stressed how necessary it is to keep the mind free from impure thoughts: "Anyone who keeps looking at a woman in order to have a passion for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
In our activity guide for this week we see a contrast of what Achan did to him by stealing some of the loot. And what can happen to us today, since we see a brother seeing something inappropriate on his computer, and what they have in common is that both desires enter through the eyes and that if we let this desire enter our hearts we will get to do things that are unpleasant in Jehovah's eyes that will not only affect us, but also our beloved congregation.
So what can we do to avoid falling into this trap of satan? The text of 2 Peter 3:13 that we are going to read will give us an idea, if you found it, please accompany me with the reading: But there are new heavens and a new land that we await according to his promise, and justice will reign in them. If we think about the idea that the things of this world and its impure desires will disappear completely, it will help us to reject the desires that this world offers us.
Do you remember, dear Brothers, the initial illustration of this speech ?, that true Christians must reject everything bad immediately and that this is our "Automatic Reaction." Just like when a doctor hits us on the knee with a hammer, what happens to the leg? The leg is instantly extended automatically, which is a «Reflex Act»; we do not think about whether we are going to do it or not.
Similarly, when temptations arise, the Christian with a pure heart and a Bible-educated conscience will automatically reject what is bad and harmful. Therefore, Dear Brothers, if we educate our consciences and hearts with the word of God and think about Jehovah's promises that there will be new heavens and a new earth that we await according to his promise and in them justice will reign, we will protect our spiritual family and we will promote peace and unity in the people of God.
Comments
Post a Comment