LOST IN THE HOUSE (PART 3) – ORDERING AND AVOIDING LOSS
PASTOR TOKUNBO OSHOKOYA
To every house that God recognizes, there are divinely recognized ordinance
There are patterns that God has accepted/established in you that you must not loose.
We are all prisoners of Jesus Christ. Any Christian who thinks otherwise is an outlaw. Hell is waiting for outlaws.
1. FOUNDATION
Proverbs 22
Verses 1 -12. contain timeless counsels
Verses 13 – 16 another bunch of admonition a
Verses 17 – 29 last group
Mark out the following:
TRAIN UP actually implies “hedge up” or “hedge in”
It means ‘build up a fence around a child (clear lines marked out)
Rein in early instruction that select for him in which to go in life.
Early training secures habitual walking in it!
FOOLISHNESS IS BOUND IN THE HEART OF A CHILD
The word ‘foolishness’ means silliness, perverseness, careless of body and soul. Note that this does not immediately imply spirit regeneration.
At Spiritual Illumination => pathways are immediately familiar
Verse 20, 21 CERTAINTIES OF THE WORDS
Verses 22-25 AT THE GATE
BEWARE OF WRONG FRIENDS, THEREFORE INFLUENCE (SCORNERS)
Verse 28: REMOVE NOT THE ANCIENT LANDMARKS
Landmarks are boundary markers
THE FATHER’s HOUSE – Luke 15: 11- 15; 32
Deliberate walk away of a Young Adult VERSUS unplanned loss in the wilderness
The most dangerous persons in the House
Who are these? The Un-teachable
He has all figured out
He is the classic “don’t confuse me with the facts, i know what i believe” guy.
1. He is Gospel-Eclipsing
– cannot learn whereas learning is embedded in Matt 28:18
2. He is Critical
-Not moved by the ministry of the word, he is gathering bullets to shoot ay leaders. He sits quietly during sermons and bible studies. On Monday, he picks everything apart. Opposite of James 1; 20-21. This is different from constructive criticism.
3. He is Divisive
-Titus 3:10 He is a boiling pot that spills over to quench the fire coals. He hurts unity & people. Usually this attitude has long legacy. Church divisions are usually results of un-teachable persons.
E.g. Diotrephes 3 John9-10
(i) will not submit to the teaching of the apostles
(ii) was un-teachable
4. He is Joy-Robbing
Teachable congregation bring joy to the leaders. Un-teachable persons robs them of joy. Heb 13:7-10
5. He is a Time Waster
-The un-teachable is the one who continues to take up pastoral leadership’s time with arguments. Endless! He just keeps re-setting the same issue over and over again. He can always find anything to nitpick and be critical about.
What to do?
-Pray for him Col 1:9-14, 2Pet 3:18
-Minimize his influence
-Watch him and the sheep
-Lovingly aim to teach him. Titus 2:15
-Confront where necessary: where sin is involved Matt 18:15-18
LOST IN THE HOUSE
Children of Disobedience and The Wrath Of God
They are ‘out of the House’ (1) physically
(2) spiritually
Remember “Go up bald head”!
God’s last appeal: (1) Malachi 4: 5, 6
(2) Luke 1: 17
“And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Wisdom of the Just = Influence and retraining of spiritual fathers in the House
Examples:
(1) Judas
(2) Demas – Col 4: 14; Philemon 1: 24; 2Tim 4
(3) Diotrephes 3John 1: 9
Ordering The House:
Nehemiah 13: 11 – 14
Proverbs 30: 29 – 31
The King with his troops
Are we surrounded by a mob (masses of untrained and unregulated people) or by a troop (trained, born in the house, regulated and armed)?
EGO = Easing God Out of the Way
5. THE END – Revelation 9: 11 They have king over them
Greek = Apollyon. Hebrew = Abaddon (destroying angel)
The Order of Power of Maliciousness
FIREBRAND – etymological interpretation of Hildebrand (German)
He who sets fire on those that are faithful to him.
Takeover Influence is “LOCUSTIC”
Abaddon is not the dragon (Satan)
Past Harbingers – Locust Metaphor
(1) – Literal plague of Locust in Algiers 1886, over 200,000 people died of famine
(2) – 1939-1945: The Germans lost their minds to the doctrine of Aryan supremacy (master race)
Jews – 10m
Others – 40m
(3) – Scholars apply it for Muslims
Every generation has its own locustic wave of destruction communism, Lsd hippies