THE LIVING WORD TRANSCRIPT

Program Air Date - 4-15-07

LESSON TITLE: "WALK IN THE SPIRIT: HATRED AND JEALOUSY"

WELCOME

In Psalm 139 we read, "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." God certainly has made us as the crowning glory and wonder of all of His creation!

What a privilege we have this morning to join together in the study of God's Living Word. We are happy you have chosen to be with us today and are excited about this opportunity we have together to glorify our creator. May we each do our part to make this time acceptable in His sight and according to His Will. Now, let's approach our Father's throne in prayer.

(Prayer)

It's now time to start our praise through song. Think for a moment about the hope you have through Jesus Christ. Now what was the most important thing ever offered that we might have this ultimate hope? Well let's find out as we join in the first song of the morning. Won't you join in with the brethren right now as we sing together, "My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less!"

(SONG # 1)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

How often do we take time to realize how gloriously and wondrously God has made us. I really love the way Paul put it in Romans 6:13, when he said, "And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." There you have it we are created by God to be instruments of righteousness.

But why are we to be righteous and what does it really mean. Don't you think this is what Moses had in mind in Genesis 1:26, when he recorded God as saying, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." We are to be righteous because we are made by God and created in His image! I also believe this is what John was talking about in 1 John 3:7. There he said, "Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous." Again confirming that we are to be righteous, just as God is!

So what then are we talking about when we say we are to be righteous? Well, obviously we know that God is good and does not evil. We also know that God is righteous, which is the opposite of unrighteousness. So when we say we are to be righteous as God, we know that this means we must put away all unrighteousness or sin! In 1 John 5:17, John again says, "all unrighteousness is sin," and then in the next verse he goes on to say, "whoever is born of God does not sin." You see, sin and unrighteousness have no part in the one who is striving to follow and be like God.

Finally, I am reminded of the beautiful verses in Matthew spoken by our Lord, when He described us as, "Lights in this world," or "cities on a hill." As Christians we are truly to be Christ-like, allowing the world to see God in us through all that we do and say. Therefore, when we are imitating God and doing His Will, we illuminate before this world as His faithful Children. Then the world can truly see that we are made in His likeness, created in His image!

Today we will again be considering a lesson from our series which is entitled, "Walk In The Spirit!" Our specific topic this morning will focus on another thing which the proper spirit does not do, "Hatred and Jealousy!" So stay with us and in a few minutes I will return with this study from God's Word. Now it's time to join in our second hymn of the morning, the name of the song, "Mansion Over The Hilltop."

(SONG # 2)

LESSON

Speaker: Ray Sullins

We're glad you've continued with us today and we now want to go back to our main text in Galatians chapter 5 and look at another one of those "works of the flesh" that many times we involve ourselves in or we allow ourselves to get caught up into and therefore are no longer walking properly in the sight of the God or in the Spirit of God.

You might notice there those things that we have covered thus far. We've talked about adultery and fornication which are mentioned in verse 19 along with lewdness or uncleanness. We also talked about in verse 20, idolatry and sorcery. Now, we'd like to talk about the next in our discussion which is hatred. Then, we're going to skip one and add it to another talk we'll have later and actually talk about rather jealousies.

As we look about the scriptures and we find out what the Bible has to say about hatred first of all, certainly the Bible is full of scriptures and passages that not only talk about the need to know that we should not hate, to know that there are certain types of times when we might hate or even to understand that there are examples in scripture where there are those who did hate. Whatever the case may be, there are many, many passages that help us to understand where we should stand in relationship to this which is again referred to as a "work of the flesh."

You might begin with me first in John, the gospel according to John, as we learn there from the words of Jesus some things concerning those who hated. The reality is that our Lord and Savior as He came to this earth was received by many and loved by many, but at the same time, He was also hated by many. Now certainly that is hard to believe at times. It might even be sad to understand or to really comprehend, but that's the reality. Jesus Himself said that there were those who hated Him.

I want you to notice with me in verse 7 of chapter 7 where He states this. "The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil." Now we begin to see a bigger picture a little bit as we find out why the world hated Jesus, because Jesus brought to light their wickedness, their evils. He made people think about what they were doing and what they did that certainly was contrary to Him or as we're seeing now, those "works of the flesh" that they had committed themselves to rather than to serving God.

You might also look over in the same book but in chapter 15 as again there we find Jesus speaking to His disciples, but this time as you'll notice around verse 18, He states this, "And if the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you." Now obviously, He tells His disciples that there are those that will hate you. Why? They hated Me. Why did they hate Jesus? We've already looked. We've already found there that Jesus said they hated Him because He had convicted them in their sins, in their wickedness, in their evil. But then He goes on in verse 19 and He says, "And if you were of the world, the world would love its own and love you, but because you are not," it says, "the world will hate you." He says that the world, the wickedness, the evils of it do not like righteous things or righteousness as we referred to earlier. It does not like those things that really are according to God, but rather it chooses to focus itself on that which is sinful. Now again, let's make the clarification. Everything of the world is not evil or wicked. The beauties of nature and many of the glories that God has made certainly are not wicked in and of themselves. But when we're talking about this worldliness or this fleshly concept, what we're talking about are those things that are contrary to God, those things that would fit into the category of those things which are unrighteous.

Another idea though besides the understanding that we must have that as some hated God for His truths and His willingness to stand and His convictions, they will hate us. We also can find about hatred that we must not hate others. There are many places in scripture again that can help us with this idea. We might think for a moment there in 1 John chapter 4 when it tells us that we must love our brethren. But what does it state there? It says that we must love our brethren because no one can say they are of God and hate his brother whom they have seen, and then turn around and say they love God whom they have not seen. You see, it states there that God is love, in the same text back in verses 7 and 8, therefore we must love as God is love. Well, we find hatred against our brethren, against someone else is improper, is sinful and is wrong. But not just our brethren. It's sad to say, but sometimes that takes place that we hate our own brethren. But not just our brethren, but back in Matthew 5 Jesus there in verse 43 actually makes the following statement, He says, "You have heard it said in days of old that you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemies." It says that before you might have hated those enemies of yours, but now He states in verse 44, "But I say to you, love your enemies and even bless those that curse you." What is He telling us? What is He encouraging us with? What's He teaching us? Hatred really has no part in the life of a follower of God or a child of God. That is hating others or hating their souls or hating who they are as far as the created being that God has made them, and that's the point. God hath made them as He has made you. How can you hate that which is created of God?

Now as we have understood we are not to hate. As we have seen here we will although be hated. But what's the third thing we might make mention of in relationship to hatred? Well, the reality is that although we are told not to hate others, there are things we can hate. We've heard the statement before that "we might love the sinner but hate the sin." Certainly that's the next idea. That's the concept that scriptures also support and show forth.

For instance, in the book of Proverbs, we find there the wise man, Solomon, in chapter 6 indicating to us that there are six things that God hates. Then he goes on and says actually seven things. But if you actually think about the things that he speaks of there in Proverbs, they are all things or actions or really characteristics we might say of individuals not the person themselves. For instance, we might note there that he mentions the proud look or arrogance, the lying tongue, the shedding of innocent blood, wicked plans, running towards evil. All of those actions are not hating the person, but hating what they do that is wicked or evil or contrary to God. So certainly the Bible tells us to hate unrighteousness, to hate sin, not to embrace anything that is contrary to God while at the same time loving even the one who might be guilty of such for we want them to repent. We love their soul.

No doubt that's why Jesus Himself in 2 Peter there again through one of His apostles inspired of the Holy Spirit said the following, that "The Lord is not slack concerning His promises as some count slackness, but He wants all men to (do what?) repent." You see the idea? God loves souls. God cares about people even when they are in sin. What did He do? He says, "I gave My son. He shed His blood that you might be forgiven." And before we become those who hate others, think about how that God could hate us in a sense for how we have misguided ourselves and really done things that we shouldn't or even as Christians done things that are contrary to His Will. You see, the fact is that God still loves us. God still receives us and forgives us if we repent. So we must be the same, and not hate, but rather again what we must strive to do is to love our God, to love our neighbors and our brethren and if comes to that point, hate those things that others do, or the characteristics that they present that certainly are not of God, that are the "works of the flesh." Why do we hate them? To help them to change. To help them to repent.

The other idea that we will talk about for a few moments is also jealousy. Jealousy is something that has effected every one of us no matter what age we are or how we might in life be younger or older, we've all been jealous before. Maybe we've seen someone before who we think is better looking than us and we think, "Wow! Why couldn't I look like that?" Or maybe we say, "What about that person who knows more than me or is more highly educated? Why can't I be that smart?" You see, we are jealous often. And what is that jealousy? Well jealousy basically means that we begin to be those in our lives who really in some way resent another person. We are bitter in a sense to the extent of being a rivalry. In other words, we really are so jealous to the point of what we later would learn of maybe envy or coveting that we really are changed in some way. In other words, I don't as Jesus said, "Rejoice with those that rejoice or weep with those that weep," but rather what I do is I say, "Why can't I have a car like that? Or why can't I have a house like that? Or why am I not able to do what they are able to do? Why do I not have the talents to lead or worship or serve my God as they have been blessed?"

Well certainly Jesus spoke of these things, about the need that we have to care for others, to go the extra mile, to be those who are really lovers of our fellow brethren. We've talked about all of these things. But as we think about all of them, then we are reminded of the need that we have not to be a jealous people.

There's a text that stands out to me as far as an example back in the book of Numbers chapter 12. You might recall there a story of Moses' brother and his sister and really what I believe to be at the heart of this story most probably is jealousy. We find that Moses has done something by taking an Ethiopian wife that they feel may not be correct, certainly for God always wanted them to marry within Israel. But now Aaron and his sister began to speak out against Moses and say, "Well, has God not spoke to us? Are we not in some way equal to Moses?" As I look at the whole story and the whole illustration, yes, I see that there might be more things than just jealousy. But what was at the foundation? What was at the heart? Why does God always speak through Moses? Why does Moses think he is so great? Why does Moses think that he is the only one that God can use? Well jealousy. In other words, seeing what someone else has and rather than being happy and pleased especially as a literal brother or sister might would be, they are jealous. Why not I? And certainly we know that later God rebukes them and even gives Miriam leprosy because of what she has done in sinning and Aaron even admits, "I have sinned in what I have done."

You see, jealousy often causes you and I to do things that we normally wouldn't do against our own family members, against our own brethren, against the church, against God for we are jealous. Why doesn't God allow me or give me? Well see again we allow jealousy to act out in ways that are improper.

Well again I might remind you of what Paul spoke to the church there at Rome as he told the brethren that he should be those once again as Jesus had as well encouraged throughout the gospel, who saw what others were involved in, saw what they were doing, how they were living, and that when they had good times that we rejoice with them and when they had the sorrowful times that we were there as well.

One other part of jealousy though I might make mention of is found in 2 Corinthians 11:2. Again, Paul to the Corinthian church talks about a godly jealousy. Now what he is talking about there in connection to these things is that as with hatred, there are hatreds that are acceptable because we hate the right types of things, not the individuals, but sin. Well, there's jealousies evidently that are acceptable as well that I might be jealous in a positive sense, as Paul was saying that he was stirred up with a godly jealousy, that he was really thankful and excited and really even mentions there even before he states it, "May I speak in folly (or in fun) for a moment in a way that might help you to understand how proud I am, how excited I am for some of those things that you are doing right," although as well in the text we find corrections that he gives.

I hope we'll think about these two attributes, these concepts, these characteristics, if you will, of really those things that are "works of the flesh," again, hatred, again, jealousy, that we might know we cannot practice such and be proper children of God. If we are walking in the Spirit rather we will do those things that God has commanded of those that walk in the Spirit.

So what are those things that we can do that show forth the righteousness of God that we've looked at today? Well, we can love as God loved. We can hate the sin, and we can be jealousy in a godly way so to speak if it be the case that we might glorify our God, that we might encourage others, and that we might show ourselves to the end that we might be found faithful in His sight.

(SONG # 3 - "Fairest Lord Jesus!")

CLOSING COMMENTS

Let me thank you again for choosing to be with us today for the Living Word program. I hope and trust, that together we have all benefited from this service to our Lord. Let me also invite you to join us every Lord's Day morning at 7:30 as we give this time to our Creator.

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Isn't there enough hatred in this world? Aren't their enough problems without adding the problem of jealousy. Let's all try to learn to love more like God and treat others as He has commanded us to!

(Program closing)