GETTING THINGS OUT OF ORDER
 

 
INTRODUCTION
Sometimes we get things out of order as did the church in Corinth.  We want to look at some things that must be in order concerning the church.
 

I CORINTHIANS 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

The fact is evident that even the gospel has been perverted and put out of order in the religious world.
People think the gospel is anything from feel good theology to fraternal orders or mythology.  They abandon the definition
of the gospel as defined by the inspired apostle.

I Corinthians 15:1-4    Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also
                                      ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory
                                      what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of
                                     all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
                                     And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
 
Why does the religious world have so much confusion, misunderstanding, and error, apparent in the teaching
and practice of those who obviously conscientiously seek to serve the Lord?

Sometimes if a man will examine his battle ground, look again at his plans, note the steps that he made that brought disaster.
 check very carefully his blueprint for success, he might observe that he has got things all out of order.

The religious world puts as it were the cart before the horse and gets ahead of himself by not seeking the plan
and pattern of God.

Jeremiah 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

When the church gets things out of order we will make little or no progress.  It is vitally important that we do Bible things in Bible ways.  That we follow Bible instruction in the orderliness, that would characterize one who carries out God's directives step by step.

We get things out of order rather frequently. A number of ways that this is  in the religious world, even in the church.
 
 

      Unfaithful  People Appointed Teachers

Occasionally a person is placed as an Teacher because he has been a good fellow.  One that has a understanding of the
word of God.  He has a marvelous personality.  Yet he is not as faithful in attendance as he ought to be.

He attends only on Lord's day mornings.  Sometimes if there is the slightest excuse he will even miss then.
 
What we think we need to do is, assign him a teaching responsibility. That will make him become faithful in attendance.

I have come to believe thatthis  is out of order.  If there is one class of persons that we do not want directing our young
people in their understanding of divine revelation, it is a unfaithful child of God.

Well someone says preacher, the only basis for faithfulness is not the attending of services of the church.  Right, there are
other factors.  Yet if he misses one in which he could have attended of the regular services under the oversight of the elders,
in fellowship with the brethren, he has a problem.

Just imagine a person who attends only on sunday morning.  He teaches his class of youngsters on the importance of
attending the assembly.  What will he say about what the Lord said through the Hebrew writer?

Hebrews 10:25-28    Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting
                                 one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching  For if we sin wilfully after
                                 that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
                                 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
                                 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

How vital attendance is too our on going and spiritual development and growth.

 If we are going to be more like Christ,  we need constantly to be affiliated with those who are seeking to be more like Christ.

We need to assemble with those who are seeking to do what Christ wants done.

To be in the assembly where we lift our faces toward him.  To become more like the object we adore.  If you allow anything to come between you and God, or more specifically to deter you from your effort to become like him, then you have a problem.

The problem is with your fidelity.  That is a heart problem, that type of person should not be assigned the responsibility of teaching our youngsters.

No, we need people faithful to the Lord.  People who see a need in the lives of others, to qualify, and prepare themselves, to inform them of God's love, and instruction, and his way.   First of all by his own example.

I could not possibly teach effectively on the importance of the assembly, and then be willfully absent.

My words would have a hollow ring, there's no way.  That's called hypocrisy in the rankest way or form.

The order is set out in the book,  Luke wrote

Acts 1:1   The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

What's that the account of the gospel records and all others is about what Jesus began to both do and teach.  Unless a member of the body of Christ is doing he need not try to teach.  He will be ineffective.

If placed in that position he will destroy the faith of his students.

They will hear one thing from him and see another different.  They will conclude that hypocrisy is the accepted course in the church, it won't work

James 3:1    My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation

There was a certain period of time, that people because of the accolades, and praise bestowed upon a teacher or rabbi that men wanted that position.

They wanted that prestige, wanted to be looked upon as a man of letters and knowledge of the law, one who teaches God's word.

There is not that attachment today.  If you think there is any glory attached today you better look at it again.  Consider very soberly the awesome responsibility of teaching.

To teach error to an assembled audience, before whom you will probably never again stand, for that audience will not be assembled again in just that order.  You likely will not be able to correct that error you taught.

If you teach you are not only responsible for your own soul and the destiny of your soul.  But you will also have the burden of edification, upbuilding, and the eternal destiny, of those you seek to inform.  Its a weighty obligation.

Not only should we not seek the position of leadership, or a position as a teacher, on the basis of pride, ego. We must not appoint a person to this task who is unfaithful and unprepared.

   Appoint Leaders That Are Not Qualified.
 

Some men are appointed to the eldership because of excellent business acumen. This man has x number of people under him.

He has a prince of a personality, he can handle people, he is successful, he gets the most out of people, He is a member of the body of Christ, so then he deserves, and would make an excellent elder.  That doesn't naturally follow at all.

It would be fine if elders had some of those qualifications, but the Lord did not say anything about that.

Just because a man is a success in this world does not make him elder material.

Sometimes we look elsewhere than in divine revelation for the qualifications of those we would appoint as overseers in the local congregation.  that is a fatal mistake.

Sometimes we appoint people who are qualified for the tasks.

Somebody says well he has a great deal of ability.  That's good but not anything particularly said about that.

I Timothy 3:3-7   Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous
                         One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man

Titus 1:6-9    If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a
                     bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine,
                     no striker, not given to filthy lucre;  But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy,
                     temperate;    Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine
                     both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
 

A man needs to be found doing the work of an elder, there is your material right there.

 Here is a committed man doing what he can within his capabilities what he can with fidelity and earnestness.  That's the man.

Somebody says preacher, we got to consider these qualifications, that's true.

I have observed in our exegesis and study of I Timothy that we used the common sense application by way of interpretation and that is fine.

After all the Bible was written for common sense application for the man of the street,  for common people.

When we come to I Timothy 1-2 we use this approach.

When we get into Chapter 3 we take a different view, looking for absolute perfection.

Some people because of this idea has the notion that no man is qualified to serve in the eldership.

It is interesting to observe, that every one of these qualifications is equally applicable to every other child of God.

With the exception of 4  qualitites which are physical in nature. This has nothing to do with the salvation of the soul at all.

Yet these  4 physical qualities, better qualifies that person appointed for the work in the bishopric.

Every spiritual qualification is equally applicable to every child of God.

This does not mean any miraculous interpretation, or any other greater degree of perfection, than any other portion of scripture in I Timothy.

I am amazed at the attitude of some in the church.

Going to be an elder?  Well that has too much responsibility,  I wont accept that duty and task.

Friend, you got that out of order in your own thinking,.

Sometimes we make statements that goes like this, no matter how foolish it may be, its still true.

When your education here stops they bury you.  You see education is a continual process. rather little or much,  more or less, good or bad.  You are learning something every day that you live.

Now let me tell you something about spiritual growth and development in the kingdom of God.

When God works with the availability that a man has given him to mold the ability that a man possesses, he is then qualified for a higher position.

Then that fellow says, I don't want it, then he is buried that very day.  Spiritually speaking.

You can't quit serving the lord.  You can't reach that plateau and say,  beyond this I will not grow.  Or say,  I will not accept the responsibilities that come with greater, broader knowledge, of eternal truth.

You can't do that. You see there is a work to be done.

The Lord did not say, I will go to this point and no further.

The Lord did not say they won't slap my face, or I'll let them slap it but they won't spit in my face.  No, he laid it all on the line.

We sometimes get things out of order by running out on the master.

God has worked with us, labored with us, used what we gave him, molded, and developed us for greater responsibility, and then we say, no.

We have no right to say no, if we are going to grow from this point.   If you use what the Lord has given you in his service,
you don't have the right to say no.

Oh there may be some reasons involved that would limit your service in whatever position you are assigned.  Just be sure the Lord understands that.  You understand that on the basis of fidelity, so I am sure the Lord will understand and it will be alright.,

But just on the basis of refusing to accept further and additional responsibility, you can't say no to the Lord.

You don't have any right to say no to the Lord.  Now when I understand that I will put myself in the harness and wear out the collar instead of a backing strap.   I will be qualified to serve as an overseer.  But until I do I am not to be appointed to that work.

Find people already proven as stated about the deacons.

I Timothy 3:10   And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.
 

How are you going to prove a deacon?

You find a fellow faithful to the Lord,  that loves his fellow man, and is already sharing with others.

A man looking for people who have needs, and is involved in trying to help them.   There you have the man.

A deacon is a servant, appointed by the elders to an area of service.

With fidelity he performs this service because he has already proven himself to be concerned with this area of work.  First proven.

Instead of putting a man into this office to mold him to the qualifications, you find a man that is already full of these qualities, then assign him that additional responsibility.

That's the way this thing works, yet we get things out of order.
 

We Put The World Before God

Somebody says preacher , We don't do that.    Don't we?

How do you view your children's homework assigned by the public school system and teacher.  In the same light you view the assignment made by the Bible school teacher on Sunday mornings or Wednesday night.

How concerned are you with his spiritual growth his understanding of divine truth?  With a concrete positive christian example on the part of parents before him.  Praying to God and concerned with spiritual things of God.

What does he hear us say about the church.  If we assess our conversation carried on audibly in the presence of our young children, I am going to suggest, and I may be wrong.  But I suggest you will be amazed at how we verbalize our negative feelings and keep our positive feelings to ourselves.

You don't know how to do it really and we gear it down to speak negatively instead of positively.

We need to give flowers to the living not the dead.  we have a problem in what we verbalize, so we magnify the faults.

Think about it. On the way home from the services or from home to the church building or regarding a special contribution, or a special request to you personally to fill a certain spot or responsibility.  What do our children hear us say.  How do we show our expression on the face to the children.  How do we react.

I know we preface our remarks by saying well I don't mean any harm.  But a little 4 year old, little 6 year old, little 54 year old
doesn't understand that.

You see what we do and say sounds so loud in the ears we can't hear what were saying or mean.

That preacher did this or that.  The service is too long.  The building was too cold, they should not have had the heat on.  Or I have never seen such a situation.  I have never seen such unfriendly people.  Did you see sister so and so, or brother
 

We don't mean to destroy our children but we don't verbalize the good things.  We just verbalize the negative things.

What are we doing.  we are getting things out of order, putting the world before God. There are faults in people, there are short comings in brethren, there are weaknesses in every are of human endeavor.  Do I need to magnify that does my children need to hear that from me?  That's the philosophy of the world.

There are perverts, immoral people do this so we ought to make movies and let everybody see that filth of man at his very worst.  Let man be glorified acting like an animal.

I simply do not agree with that.  I think we know their faults, their weakness and brethren if we don't magnify the positive and minimize the negative things we are going to destroy our children.  We talk long and loud about vacations and that is great.

Our kids will have time and memory long after we are gone to think about the experiences.  We need to go places with our kids I don't care where, just go because we are making memories for them in later years.

Yet if you magnify that then you are putting the world before God.  People think you have to be a goody goody quoting scripture to kids, no there is a way to do everything you do as a christian and enjoy it and people can understand you are a christian in your life.

Those things we enjoy recreationally are probably good, until we magnify fun and frolic over spiritual things.

We can magnify the world and minimize spiritual things,  We can become more interested in the clothing on their backs, food, shelter than the spiritual growth and development.

What are we doing?  sowing to the flesh putting the world before God, it happens so easily and its not all bad people.  Sure there are people bent on disobeying God they do that regularly, but even God's people don't mean to do that but it is so easy to get things out of order isn't it.

I John 2:15-17     Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love
                            of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes,

We must magnify the spiritual things.  Even though we enjoy the elements of the world that are legitimate, and within the realm  of activity on the part of God's children.

Make sure we put the emphasis on the right thing.

MARRIAGES GET OUT OF ORDER

Of course we all hear of trial marriages.  Some people are so shallow, or maybe I should say, that some poor people so helplessly ignorant, are heard on occasion to say.

Oh well, if they can't make it they can get a divorce, and marry somebody else.

We have grown up in a permissive society and men are abysmally ignorant of the sacredness of marriage. The sanctity of the home.

They don't understand about the three great institutions ordained of God.  The home, the civil state and the church.

They don't know how they interact and inter relate and they don't know where too place the emphasis.

They are just above the level of an animal, in the use of their intelligence.  This is the distinctive difference between themselves and the lower forms of animal life.

They think that while they are on a higher plane that they ought to get down and live like animals.

So many young people say, well we don't know if we really want to get married, so lets live together for a while then
we will decide.

It doesn't work like that, It just doesn't work that way.

A young man enticing a young woman says,  "Well, I wouldn't want to live with you,  if I didn't love you".

Which means he has has no more concept of love than a bush goat.  He doesn't know the meaning of the word.

I love you, so I will prostitute your body,  I am going to disease your conscience, I'm going to blight your happiness.

And there is a good chance I am going to damn your soul in hell.  That's cause I love you.

 It won't work.  That kind of thing is called whoredom and prostitution.  That is condemned by God.

Hebrews 13:4  Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
 

The biological appetites and urges of the human frame, are freely expressed, and regulated by the law of God.

God's plan and directives are found in the sacred bond of marriage.  Fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Any kind of sexual contact, or activity outside the arrangement of marriage, will destroy you now and eternally.

You mean you can't be forgiven,  sure you can be forgiven, but you know that sexual sins are unique.

You can be a thief, and repent and restore, pay and apologize, and everything is fine.  The slate is cleaned and cleared like where you started

Yet in sexual sins, you can draw a line on a board, on one side your pure and after you step back you can never step over to purity again.   You can repent, be forgiven live, a productive life,  yet you can never step back as you were.

I am sure I don't know all of this about this meaning in I corinthians 6:15 but its very sobering.

I Corinthians 6:15   Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ,
                              and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
 

Somebody says, well preacher, people have done it all the time.  Yes they have sure have.  David did a man after God's own heart.

There you are preacher, a clear classic Biblical example.  This man sinned grievously with Bathsheba, even had her husband
put to death, and God forgave him of his sin.

Yes,  but don't overlook the fact that he never was able to step back.  God said the sword will not depart from your house.

David had trouble after trouble and few days with a moments peace.

Sin has consequences that lives on.

A man commits murder, he hears the gospel, the love story of the cross.  The man obeys the gospel, now values that life he took.

 Would never take another life upon his own soul, he wouldn't do it again.

Yet he has been convicted,  he has a sentence to carry out.  There is the consequences of sin in these areas of morality.

Time was one did not have to overly worry about children.

Today there are people waiting on almost every corner for kids to corrupt and entice and destroy.  There are so many areas now young people in if you become involved in it you will suffer for the rest of your life.

So many, many things, and that is a matter of deep concern.

This thing of trial marriages,  you are not an animal, you are made in the image and the likeness of God.

You are a human being, and there is an honorable way to conduct yourself in all of life's affairs and changes.

Honor yourself and keep yourself pure.   Honor your companion.  Sell your virtue after you sold your life.

That's the course.  Give your life before you give your virtue.  That God respects.  Anything else man doesn't respect let alone God.

I am amazed how people can give undue liberty with their body, and then inquire, or demand respect.    For what?

You read in the newspaper where somebody has lived with someone. He walks out after living with her with no commitment.

What did you expect that animal to do, when another animal comes by?

 Strange flesh to him and that all he has ben interested in all the time.

You see people call corruption, immorality, ungodliness, prostitution, and whoredom love.

That's not remotely related its called sin, and you can't say it without hearing the hiss of the serpent.  It will damn your soul.

There is an honorable way to live made in the image and likeness of God, trial marriages it won't work.

WE PUT REST BEFORE WORK

Preacher, we don't do that you say.

Looking at statistics from church growth study some time ago.  In one of these studies it showed that 88 members in the church of Christ, took 12 months to convert one alien sinner to Christ.

In one isolated study it took 900 members of the church to convert 1 sinner to Christ.  What do you have?  Nothing, you have absolutely nothing when we become stagnant and unevangelistic.

Not only is this an abysmal ignorance of divine revelation, and christian responsibility.

You have a total lack of concern for the lost.

But then if we have members living in this world with a commission to preach the gospel to every creature, knowing there are some honest souls out there.  What are we doing about the lost.

Are we resting on laurels and feel no personal responsibility, we need to do the work of the Lord brethren.

I Corinthians 15:58    Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work
                                 of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
 

If we are not careful we get things out of order, such as resting not labouring.
 
 

SOME SAY THEY ARE SAVED WITHOUT THE CHURCH
 

If this was not so deadly serious, that statement would be humorous as well as ludicrous.

This indicates a complete lack of understanding. That statement is actually saying, "You can be saved without being saved!"

Run that by me again preacher,  He is saying you can be saved without being saved.

 Preacher you know he wouldn't say that.  Well that's the thrust and truth of his statement.

The church is comprised of those that are called out of the lost cosmos of iniquity, the lost state, those without God and hope.

Ephesians 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers
                         from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

The church or ecclessia, is the called out of God.  The saved are called by the gospel from being lost to salvation.

I Peter 2:9    But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should
                    shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

Acts 2:47   Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as
                  should be saved.
 

Those out of the world,  are drawn by the power of the gospel.  They are saved by the gospel. The church is the saved.

A man that says you are saved out of the church he has no understanding of salvation at all.

 He knows nothing of the plan of salvation.  He is saying you can be saved without being saved.

You can join every denomination on earth and be lost.  that has nothing to do with it at all.

We are talking about those cleansed by the blood of Christ, these are they who have applied that blood in obedience to the covenant sealed by that blood.

The Lord adds them to others who have been cleansed by that blood.  They only way to be cleansed is to meet the stipulations and conditions in the new testament the last will and testament of jesus Christ.

A will testated cannot be changed.  This will was probated in Acts 2 by the divinely appointed emissaries assigned that task.

The church is the saved.  Every person that is lost is in the world of sin.  Everyone that is saved is in the church.

Not denominational dogma, human opinion, not my idea of religious, we are all religious, worshipping beings but we are lost until we are saved by the obedience of the gospel.

People gets the order mixed up

PEOPLE DIE BEFORE THEY ARE READY

This should not happen in a single case yet it happens every moment of every day all, the time, men die before they are ready.

The solution though is very simple.

II Corinthians 6:2   For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee:
                             behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

What do we have to work with?  Yesterday its gone, cannot be recalled,  Not tomorrow it will never arrive. Just today, just today.

Most of the things we worry about involve either yesterday or tomorrow and we have no control over either.  no wonder Paul said don't worry.  Its forbidden.

Philippianss 4:6    Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
                              requests be made known unto God.

We have no reason to worry.  Our heavenly father is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient.  He inhabits eternity and holds the world literally in his hands.  He knows one end from time as well as the other.  I am his child.  who am i to worry?

Food he says he will throw that in free for nothing.  All I need to do is seek his will and rightousness.

Matthew 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

He gave his son for me I know he loves me.  I must make the best use of the present as the best and only preparation for the
future.

Philippians 3:12    Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I
                               may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus

People don't do this and they go up against dead, unprepared and unready.

People die before they are ready the saddest thing to imagine.  We are just too busy, making money, having fun, in good health, doing fine don't need the Lord then POW.  Eternity looks me in the face. The grim reaper has his bony finger right between my eyes.

Don't die before you are ready.

Saved before baptism

The world especially denominational dogma has this totally out of order.  The word of God is so clear. We will follow the order contained in a single passage of scripture, and it will be evident in the order of salvation.
 

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

We can all understand that belief precedes baptism which precedes salvation of the soul.  We are baptized into the death of Christ and our sins are remitted contingent on our belief, repentance and confession of the Lord.

Baptism puts us into Christ and saves our soul as we obey the Lord's will.
 

CONCLUSION

   We need to keep our soul and lives in order.  The orderly and wise thing to do is to become a Christian.

Believe Jesus to be the son of God, John 8:24
Repent of sins, Luke 13:3-5
Confess Christ with the mouth, Romans 10:10
Be baptized for the remission of sins, Acts 2:38
Live faithful unto death, Revelation 2:10
 
 
 
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