Address—Tim Roach
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Good evening. Maybe we could start our meeting tonight by singing #13 in the appendix.
Hasty on from grace to glory, armed by faith and winged by prayer. Heavens, eternal days before thee. God's right hand shall guide thee there. #13 the appendix. Somebody start that one, please.
Something still to do or there?
My faith and with my friend.
And his little painting.
I'm trying to bear.
Students come across lighter.
I want to speak a little bit about faith tonight, and we're armed by faith and wing by prayer, and we want to talk about faith as we go through our Christian life. Let's pray.
Our God and Father, we give thanks for this chance again to be together and give thanks for the activities that we've had today. And we give thanks now for the time to think about the Lord Jesus. In our our walk of faith, we just commit this evening to Your hand. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Let's turn to First Samuel, Chapter 16.
I want to talk about beautiful people and faith. There's a number of beautiful people mentioned in the Bible and we'll look at some of them, and some of them had faith, some of them did not. Now in First Samuel chapter 16 and verse 12, now this David, he was ready and with all of a beautiful countenance and goodly to look to.
David was a man of integrity.
Most people liked him and he had faith in God, and he had a beautiful countenance.
He was called a man after God's own heart, and many people knew he had been anointed as the next king of Israel. But Saul, the king Saul, was chasing David through the mountains, in the wilderness and like an animal and trying to destroy him. And in Rome, let's go to Romans chapter 5.
Romans chapter 5 And I believe that we will see David in heaven one day because David had faith. He won't be in heaven because he of his good works. He won't be in heaven because he led God's people well. He won't be in heaven because he offered so many sacrifices and animals in worship to God. He will be in heaven because he was justified by faith.
People from the Old Testament times and people of the Church dispensation today we'll all get to heaven the same way We are all justified by faith. Romans 5, verse one.
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Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Justified by faith peace with God.
Most of us have faith. But you know, sometimes tough things happen and our faith can be shaken. And then it is that our peace seems to to somehow dissipate and we become anxious and we become frustrated and confusion. It settles down into our soul.
Faith is to believe.
To believe that even when times are tough and that you when you see no possible way out of your your difficult situation faith is to believe that God has the best for you, He intends the best for you, and regardless of the human results, God has the best for you.
Faith is to believe something that you've never seen yourself.
How many of you know who the President of the United States is?
Everybody.
Obama. How do you know that? Have you ever seen him? How do you know he's the president?
Oh, you hear it in the media, Is that right on television, newspapers, Radio.
Do you believe everything on the media, most of its lies?
A lot of it is lies. Do you believe it? How do you know he's the president? By faith, because we know how the system works. Have you ever seen God? How do you know God exists? You may say, well, I saw Jesus in a in a movie, in the Jesus film or in the Miracle Maker, and I think there's a new one called the Son of Son of God or something like that. And you can see Jesus in the movie. Is that Jesus? Can you believe by faith that that's Jesus because you can see it in the movies?
Or is it because we have the word of God, we have faith that the word of God means what it says in Jesus is God. He is real, He exists. We have Sometimes we like to say I don't believe in God anymore because if I believe in God then I have to give up what I want to do.
Have you ever seen Satan?
Satan is very real. He's the God of this world. He has a lot of power. But have you ever seen him? How do you know he's real? How do you know he exists? By faith, we know that Satan is real. We have the word of God, and it tells us all about Satan. There are two gods that we have to deal with.
There is Satan. Satan is the God of this world. And then there's the Lord Jesus. He's the God of heaven. And both Satan and Jesus are battling for your soul. Jesus wants to save you. He wants to raise you up, to be with him in heaven. And at the same time, Satan wants to torment you and to drag you down to hell and to destroy you.
Do you ever have bad things happen to you in life?
Maybe you haven't yet. If you live long enough, you don't have to live very long and bad things will happen.
And who do you blame for the bad things? Do you blame Jesus?
Do you blame Satan?
You blame yourself.
There was a young woman, and I'm going to call her Sarah. And Sarah was about 18 or 20 years old or so, and she had done some bad things in her life. But then she confessed her sin and her life changed and she began to live a life of faith.
Well, one day Sarah was driving her car. She came up to a stop sign. She pulled out to on a busy road and as the truck came along, the truck couldn't stop and he slammed his brakes on and he swerved and the truck tipped over and the truck and the load crushed Sarah. And Sarah was dead. Whose fault was it? Was it God's fault?
We say God is sovereign and God has power. He could have stopped that from happening.
But are we puppets?
Who do not even have to think for ourselves. No, we are not puppets.
We live by faith.
Well, maybe it was Satan's fault. Was it Satan's fault that she was crushed in that accident? Could be. Satan does not want you to live by faith.
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He does not want your life to give glory to God, and so Satan will eliminate you.
If he can.
Satan is the God of this world.
But we can't blame Satan for everything.
On the other hand, was it Sarah's fault?
God gives us freedom to make our own decisions, to make our own choices.
We cannot forget about man's responsibility.
Yes, there is God's sovereignty and there is also man's responsibility. And when we look back through Scripture, we find right at the beginning in Genesis that Adam died and Noah died.
Abraham died. Jacob died. All these were men of faith. Whose fault was it that they died?
Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2.
I have a sister.
She had a little daughter. The daughter wasn't wasn't even 2 years old and the little girl, she got sick. They didn't know what was wrong. Eventually they found out she had, I think it was leukemia and it wasn't long before the little girl died. Whose fault was that? Was it the girl's fault?
No. Was it God's fault?
Was it Satan's fault?
Or was it because of sin?
Because of sin, people die.
Not necessarily seller, not necessarily their own sin, but we are all born with a sin nature and after Adam sinned we all inherited the source and the effects of sin.
Is this it is this disease of sin that makes people sick and it makes them die. And whether you can think of a sin that you have done, or maybe you can't think of a sin you have done, it doesn't matter. You are a Sinner and you need to have the remedy for your sickness of sin. You need to have the blood of Jesus Christ to take away your sin.
To take away the sentence of sin of death.
And judgment. And Jesus will give you a new life, but you will have the effects of being born as a Sinner in your body until you die or until Jesus comes to take us to heaven.
This blessing of life.
Eternal life in heaven with Christ.
It's good for you only if you know Jesus Christ as your savior. Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 9, verse 8. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves is the gift of God.
Were saved through faith.
It is the gift of God. Let's go to Genesis 29 and we'll look at another beautiful person. First we looked at David. He had a beautiful countenance and we'll get back to David. But now let's look at beautiful Rachel and in Genesis 29, verse 17.
Says Leah was tender eyed, but Rachel was beautiful and well favored. Well, she was well favored. That means she had a nice figure. Rachel. She was outgoing.
She was beautiful. She was everything that Jacob wanted in a woman.
However, he was only looking on the outward appearance, but on the inside. Rachel.
Did not have faith.
Rachel.
She followed Jacob. Jacob was a man of faith in God, but Rachel she was an idolater she left she when she left her home and to travel. She hid her idols in the luggage.
She was the kind of she was the kind of person who would go to a Bible conference and she'd hide A deck of car playing cards in her purse.
Or she'd have some rock music on her iPod that was dishonouring to the Lord. Or maybe she she maybe she would hide A joint in her purse along with a Roach clip.
Yes, I know what Roach clip is.
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That was one of my nicknames in school, along with many others.
Names can be fun sometimes, but.
Leah. She was more introverted and plain, but she really desired her husband. She wanted to love him, wanted him to love her, and she wanted to spend time with him, and he wanted him to spend time with her. God had a special blessing for Leah.
She wasn't as beautiful as Rachel, but God had a special blessing for her. She was the mother of Judah, who is the patriarch of the Kingly tribe. Jesus was a descendant of Leah and that is why God allowed Laban to cheat Jacob, to give him Leah for his wife.
There's so much intrigue in the ways of God, and it's just so amazing to read the word of God and see how everything fits together.
So nicely.
Let's go to Proverbs 31.
Guys.
When you look for a wife.
Look at her faith.
Does she fear the Lord? Will she be a proper helper for you? Does she have the same ideals and the desires as you do to live a Christian life? Does she have the same devotion to Christ as you do?
Have you discussed your spiritual beliefs?
Do your beliefs match the word of God? Have you discussed your financial backgrounds?
And your financial expectations. If you're going to blend each other together, you need to have similar ideas.
Do you both conduct your finances with godly integrity?
What about the headship of man and the subjection of women? Have you discussed these things? How can two walk together except they be agreed?
Jacob found out that there's more to married life than Rachel's beauties and her favorable body. Proverbs 31, verse 30.
I don't know if this was talking about Rachel, but she our verse earlier said she had beauty in the favorable body. Here says favor is deceitful and beauty is vain. But a woman that fears the Lord she shall be praised.
Let's go to Second Samuel, chapter 14.
And we'll look at another beautiful person.
And this beautiful person is Absalom.
And in Second Samuel chapter 14 and verse 25.
It says, But in all Israel there is none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty. From the sole of his foot, even to the crown of his head, there was no blemish in him. Absalom was a wonderful looking man, but what kind of a person was Absalom? He was deceitful. He was full of pride. He was rebellion. There was murder. I mean, he led an insurrection and tried to kill his own father, David.
The King of Israel.
Girls.
Don't decide on your man by his looks, for his strength, for his abilities, or his humor, or his devotedness to you at this moment.
You also need to consider his faith, his honesty, his character, his devotedness to Christ. You need to consider his subjection to Christ as His head if you are going to be subject to him. Wouldn't it be nice for him to be subject to Jesus Christ?
In First Corinthians 11 verse three it says But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ and the head of the woman is the man and the head of Christ is God. We each need to be subject to our head in our in the sphere in which God has placed us.
Let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 32.
Deuteronomy, chapter 32.
We've spoken about Rachel.
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We've spoken about Absalom.
And we're going to talk about Nabal now. These were three people who were surrounded by faith most of their life.
But they were, as it says here at the end of verse 20, Deuteronomy 3220. They were children in whom there is no faith.
As I look around this room tonight.
I see many, many beautiful people.
And I'm just so thankful and privileged to have all You Beautiful people come to my camp.
It's a real honor to Elaine and me to have you here.
Most of you here tonight are all people who have been surrounded by faith most of your life.
And when I get to heaven, I'm going to look around for all You Beautiful people.
And will you be there?
I'm afraid that I'm not going to find some of you there.
But why?
Why? Is it because that our bodies are going to be changed and I'm not going to recognize you?
Why will I not find you in heaven?
What is the problem? You are a beautiful person, but you're not going to be in heaven.
Have I offended you to think that Christianity is not real? Do you think that some of the Christians you know are just big hypocrites?
And so you can just forget about God.
Don't think that way. You can't blame anyone else for your rejection.
Of Jesus Christ. Everyone of us, that includes you. You will give an account of God.
You will give an account of yourself to God. You have to get past Jesus Christ to get into heaven. There is no other way. But if you have rejected Jesus Christ, he won't let you in. He will only let you into heaven if you ever believed on him for your salvation.
But if you do not commit yourself to the lordship of Christ, you will be damned.
In the lake of fire forever.
Endeavor and ever.
Endeavor.
There will be no end.
God doesn't want that for you. He wants He offers you everlasting life.
Not everlasting damnation. He offers you life. Don't reject it. There's another beautiful person.
Her name was Bathsheba.
The beauty of Bathsheba got her into moral trouble.
So be careful guys and girls, that you do not misuse your body.
Your beauty to get yourself into trouble.
Remember that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and everywhere you go the Holy Spirit goes with you. Even when you go out into the lake after curfew, the Spirit of God is with you.
So watch your eyes, your ears, your lips, your hands, your feet. Watch what you do. Watch what you say. Be careful where you go, because you are taking God into every situation with you.
There's another beautiful person.
Her name was Esther.
God used the beauty of Esther to be instrumental in saving the nation of Israel from annihilation in the days of King Hazueras.
King of Hazir, he reigned from India even unto Ethiopia. He had a large area under which he controlled.
So as you see, beauty can be beneficial or it can be detrimental.
And so I encourage you to use the qualities that God has given you wisely for his honor, for his glory, and to glorify God in your body. Let's go to First Samuel 25.
And we'll look at another woman.
She's the main woman we want to talk about tonight. Her name is Abigail and Abigail had a beautiful countenance. And there's two people in the King James Version Bible that it says they had a beautiful countenance. We already spoke of David. He had a he had a beautiful countenance. Now we'll see this verse that Abigail had a beautiful countenance. First Samuel 25, verse 3.
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Now the name of the man was Naval in the name of his wife Abigail, and she was a woman of good understanding.
And of a beautiful countenance. But the man was churlish and evil in his doings, and he was of the House of Caleb.
Nabel's name means dolt. I don't know if you've ever heard of that word or used it. We used to use it quite a bit when we were kids. It was kind of a an insult or an offensive term that deliberately insults somebody'd intelligence. Something like you might say, you big dummy or you imbecile or you moron. Things that your mother would probably wash your mouth out with soap if you said them, if you called somebody that. But that's what Nabel's name was.
And it says that Naval was a churlish man, and a churlish man means he was cruel and hard hearted. And later on in the story we find that Naval was also called a son of Belial, which means he was means he was ungodly and he was a wicked man.
Nabel was likely a man who would spend hours in front of an online video game.
And he'd be fighting and killing people without a conscience.
That's how Naval was. He was dumb. He spent more time partying and drinking than he did building a relationship with his beautiful wife.
Many marriages are in trouble today.
Because some husbands.
Are becoming addicted to these video games.
You probably don't want to name your your child navel.
But Abigail is a nice name. Abigail means source of joy.
And Abigail was beautiful to look at, and she had a beautiful spirit within her, but it seems like she married the wrong person.
Maybe you feel like that sometimes you feel like you married the wrong person. But you know what? If you marry the wrong person, you're still married to them and you're still required to love them and to respect them.
And you need to stay with them, except in the case of fornication where they have committed adultery.
First Samuel 25 and verse 2.
There was a man in Mayon whose possessions were in karma, and the man was very great.
And he had 3000 sheep and 1000 goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
Nabel was a very rich man and he lived in prosperity. He had 3000 sheep, he had 1000 goats. His sheep were in the wilderness with the herdsmen, and when they were out there, David and his men were also out in the in the in that area in the wilderness, and David and his men, They helped these herdsmen care for the sheep and they protected them. David and his men, they helped protect neighbors, men and the animals.
David was very kind to these people.
And later on.
David was over in Carmel, where naval was shearing his sheep and David and his men, they were in trouble, They were very hungry and they had nothing to eat.
But David had faith that God would feed him in the wilderness. And Abel had the food that God was going to use to provide for David. And so David sent his men. He said, you go speak to Nabel. Go talk to him and ask him for food and ask him in my name. Tell him that David sent you and asked him for food. And so the men went and they went and talked to neighbor. And they asked very nicely. They talked to them. But Nabel refused. Naval pretended not to know David.
Nabel said bad things about David. He said bad things about his men. And in Proverbs 15 verse one, it says grievous words stir up anger. While the grievous words of Nabel made David angry, made him very angry. And he he got 400 of his men together and they prepared themselves to go down and kill every last man in Nabal's household. Let's look in First Samuel 25, Let's go down to verse 13.
David said unto his men, Gergie on every man his sword, and they girded on every man his sword. And David also girded on his sword. And there went up after David about 400 men and 200 men abode by the stuff.
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So while God's promise was to raise David up to the throne of Israel, Satan was attempting to destroy David because Satan knew that David was God's man.
Satan knew that great blessing was going to come to this world through David, and so Satan tried to destroy him.
David.
He was distressed, discouraged, when everyone was turned against him.
It must have seemed to David.
As if God forgot about him, that God didn't care about him. God had anointed David to be the king of Israel, and here he was running for his life from the government of Saul and then naval people like Nabel. They reject him and Davids Out there discouraged in the wilderness, it seems like no one cared for his soul.
Don't we feel like this sometimes when life gets tough? That's how Satan works. First he gets us down and he gets us discouraged. Then he starts to throw fiery darts at us. Let's go to Ephesians 6. And I want to look at one of the fiery darts that Satan throws at us.
He throws fiery darts at us. We need to have our shield of faith. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 16.
Says above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
One of the fiery darts that Satan throws at us is the idea that God doesn't love me.
God is not good.
There are some things in life.
That traumatized people and they and it causes them to doubt God's goodness.
Just recently in the news, there's a man named Robin Williams.
What is it that traumatized Robin Williams?
He was one of America's funniest comedians. He could make people laugh.
But he had an emptiness inside of his soul.
His humor did not satisfy him.
He went through drug rehab twice.
Because the drugs didn't satisfy the emptiness in his soul, it just made the whole bigger.
He tried alcohol that didn't achieve peace or freedom from his from his depression.
And so he turned to suicide.
I don't know, Williams spiritual State.
I don't know if he accepted the Lord at some point in his life, but I believe he lived as an atheist.
But what a shocker it is for an unbeliever to wake up in death and to find out that death does not end the emptiness. It does not end the pain and the emptiness of the soul.
It's only Christ that can satisfy. It's only Christ that can give peace. It's only Christ that can fill the emptiness in your soul. And maybe you are traumatized today and you think that God is not good.
And you think that God does not love you?
What is it that has gotten you depressed? What is it that's gotten you confused?
Have your parents divorced?
Or maybe they have died.
Maybe you lost your boyfriend, or you broke up with your girlfriend and you say bad things happen to me? I've had an accident. I've got physical problems. My baby died. Does God really care about me? He doesn't care about me. If there's a God, how could such a disaster happen? I know God doesn't love me. He doesn't care about me, I say to you.
You need to go and get your shield of faith and turn to Romans chapter 8. Let's go to Romans chapter 8.
And we'll read verse 38 and 39.
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers.
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Nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus wants to be sure that no amount wants you to be sure. He wants you to be sure that no amount of traumatization can separate you from the love of God. And God proved his love to us and He proved us and he tells us in in first John 4 verse nine. He says in this was manifested the love of God toward us because God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. God proved His love. He manifested His love toward us.
When He sent his Son, the Lord Jesus, into this world to be punished because of my sin to be my substitute. And Jesus bore my sins in his own body on the tree, and He died for me and He shed His blood for me, You and I, we deserve to be punished in hell. But it is the goodness of God that brought you to salvation, and it is the goodness of God that will keep you as the believer today.
In your distress and in your depression, and in your desolation, your loneliness.
Satan is trying to drag you down. He's trying to drag you down to despair. While Jesus is trying to hold you up, He's holding on to you and who is going to win the battle?
Thankfully, we are kept by the power of God, and Jesus can never lose.
You don't have to go outside and commit suicide.
You don't have to turn to drugs or alcohol or homosexuality. You need to accept God's goodness to keep you during the tough times in your life.
Jesus offers you freedom from your depression. He offers you forgiveness of sins. Please, please accept His forgiveness.
Proverbs 15/1.
Says.
A soft answer.
Turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.
Satan's fiery darts of grievous words that Nabel said to David stirred up anger in Davis''s heart.
Let's go back and look at the story in Samuel 2125, First Samuel 25.
And we'll start at verse 14.
Naval had gotten David angry.
Got his men together to go down and slaughter navels people.
Verse 14 But one of his young men, one of Nabel's young men, told Abigail, Nabel's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master, and he railed on them. But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything as long as we were conversant with them when we were in the fields. They were a wall unto us both by night and day.
All the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do. Remember. And the first verse we read about Abigail said she was a woman of good understanding, and so his neighbors men. They knew that Abigail was a woman of good understanding, and so they say to her. Now, therefore, no one consider what that will do. For evil is determined against our master and against all his household, For he is such a son of Belial that a man cannot speak to him.
The beautiful Abigail was about to have her whole household destroyed by David.
She knew her husband was an unreasonable and an overbearing man. She knew he was a son of Belio, but she was faithful to Nabal.
And so Abigail sent out. She set out to be a peacemaker between David and Nabel. And Nabel, if I can call it a peace offering, she brought a peace offering, a gift of food to give for David's hungry men.
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And then she came to David, and she took the sin of David, of his ignorance. She took it as her own, and she took the guilt of his offensive behavior as if it were her own doings. And she apologized to David for not being there when his men came to ask for food. And she gave a soft answer that turned away the wrath of David.
And that is what our verse and Proverbs said. A soft answer turns away wrath.
You know, Abigail's stepson Solomon wrote that a soft answer turns away, right. I wonder if she had any influence.
On on Solomon.
Let's go back to verse 18, First Samuel 25, verse 18.
Then Abigail made haste and took 200 loaves, 2 bottles of wine and five sheep ready, dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and in 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes, and of figs, and laid them on *****.
There's a lot of food.
A big piece offering there's a lot of men to feed their 600 men plus David.
Get a lot of mighty men in there. I'm sure they had mighty appetites and they could eat a lot. Well, Abigail brought them a lot of food. And when Abigail saw David, she bowed down before him. And she says in verse 28, she says, I pray thee forgive the trespass of thy handmaid, for the Lord will certainly make my Lord a sure house, because my Lord fighteth the battles of the Lord and evil has not been found in thee.
All thy days.
Abigail gave David the honor that is due to the man who is going to be the King of Israel, and it was the honor that her husband had refused to give David.
It wasn't long before Nabal had a heart attack. 10 days later, Naval died.
And so David, he moved in, and he took Abigail to be his wife.
I want to encourage all of you.
To have a beautiful spirit and to live by faith.
And to speak to one another with soft words. Sometimes you're going to have people arguing with you and trying to stir up strife.
But speak to one another with soft words.
Man looks on the outward appearance and sees beautiful countenance.
But it is the beautiful spirit of faith.
That's going to help you get through life.
We've been Speaking of faith.
And at the end of Paul's life, he said. I have fought a good fight. I've finished my course. I have kept the faith.
Do you live by faith in God?
I was just thinking if you were to die.
And you were to have an epitaph written on your tombstone.
What could be written there of you? Could it be said of you? Like Paul, he kept the faith?
That would be a nice saying on your tombstone.
Or maybe, like David, he was a man after God's own heart.
Or like Esther.
She obtained favor in the sight of all.
Or was it like Abigail?
Says she was a woman of good understanding.
These are nice things about these beautiful people in the word of God.
Don't give up.
Don't let Satan's fiery darts destroy your faith.
Continue to keep the faith.
Let's sing #246.
Read verse 5. Thither by faith we upward soar.
And time and sense seem all no more.
Freely God our souls can greet.
For glory crowns the mercy seat.
Scene #246 Somebody start that please.
Let's pray our God and Father we just give thanks for the mercy seat that we have that when the host of of hell and Satan come and surround us and try to destroy us and discourage us and depress us and and cause us to turn out turn aside from following the Lord. We just give thanks that we have the mercy seat there that we can go to.
And by faith we can.
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Enter into communion and fellowship with the Lord Jesus and to have that emptiness in our soul filled.
We know that even as a believer we can get depressed and and have an emptiness in our soul when we don't fill it with with Christ and we just ask for help as we walk and live this life of faith we just commit ourselves into thy care. O God, in Jesus name we pray. Amen.