Article 18 Rough wood and sandpaper October 11,2017

Article 18 October 11-17 Rough wood and Sandpaper

Reverence Jude 24,25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
I was sitting in church one Sunday and Jesus asked me this question? how are people like a rough piece of wood. I work with wood so I knew that rough unfinished wood needs sand paper to get it smoothed out. there are many different grits of sand paper, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 180, 200, 220. The lower the number, more course the paper. Somebody that has had a very hard, and difficult life needs to be smoothed a little more than somebody that heard the message of Jesus and responded to His call. The more difficult life, will need Christ to work with them more to rid themselves of sins of their life. What is that grit that we can receive to help remove the rough edges, and have it change our lives? God’s Word is the sandpaper. The more you read and learn, the more you put His Word into practice in your life to remove the rough edges, the more you read and put into action God’s Word in your life the smoother one becomes. Also it teaches us self control. The lack of Self control means that you do not know how to discipline yourself. You have not been able to say no to yourself to keep yourself from going places or doing things that do not show that one can control their actions and not mastered self discipline yet. The sanding only can begin when one accepts Christ. That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9-10

New believers, or believers who have lived life as an unbeliever, are like rough wood, their lives have been course and rough. One’s life does not get their attention until a shock wave comes in the form of some sort of personal repercussions because of ones long standing words and actions that someone gets tired and says that is enough, I’m out of here, a death, sickness. And in that moment, you are dumb founded and say, what is going on. Then reality has set in and you realize that you have said and done some real terrible and dumb things and it has come to an end.  The Lord wanted to get your attention and He has any number of ways in doing that. Your eyes have been opened, and there is no going back. This is where sandpaper comes in. Your deeds and actions are like very rough wood. Rough people need rough sand paper. For those who have a disease you can have the same kind of bewilderment of why me? Some people get angry, or fall into God’s loving arms to get help in dealing with the disease.

How is sandpaper made? The surface is made of coarse pulverized granules glued or bonded to the sanding surface on the disc. The fine grit is for finished sanding, which is very smooth paper to the touch. One might look at the different courses of sand paper as our new lives in Christ. New believers or one rededicating their lives, start out coming out of the world, lying, cheating, swearing, drinking, drugs, sexually active, maybe they have been incarcerated for murder, theft, or other crimes. The Lord knows how much our lives need refining and what we need most at this time. Many times what we have created in our lives bring great pain later. That is what sin does, brings much pain into ones life.

People believing or unbelieving all start at the same place with Christ, all are babes or beginners in Christ. Sometimes we have had a checkered past because of the lack of knowing about Christ and the commandments. These are His basic rules. You will have no other Gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven, and you shall not worship them. You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against you neighbor. You shall not covet his wife, or any of his servants, or any of his livestock, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Jesus says that if you have committed any of these, you have committed them all. No body is without sin. No matter of our sin, we must realize we are all sinners to a Holy God, we are still sinners, that is the point, Jesus is the only one that can take my sin away. His blood paid my penalty, and your penalty, by going through the scourging, before they took Him to the cross, once there, they nailed His hands and feet to the cross to keep Him there, He bled, and died for our sin, that was the payment for the forgiveness of sin. Then He rose from the dead, back to life, Christ is the only first fruits. The Lord Jesus wants us to be able to have self control in every part of our lives. We are not supposed to react to everything that somebody else does or says to us.

1. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. 2. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. (Sound judgment) 3. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My bretheren, these things ought not be this way. 4. He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city. 5. Not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. For let him who love life and see good days refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from peaking guile. And let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. 6. Depart from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it, for the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. 7. This you know, my beloved brethren. But let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. 8. Do not go out hastily to argue your case; otherwise, what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame? Argue your case with your neighbor, and do not reveal the secret of another. 9. I urge you therefore, bretheren by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God , which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 10. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, what ever is right, whatever is pure, whatever lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of all peace shall be with you. 11. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert, your adversary the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 12. Submit therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify hearts, you double minded. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. 13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
1. I Corinthians 10:13, 2. I Timothy 1:7, 3. James 3:8-10, 4. Proverbs 16:32, 5. I Peter 3:9-12, 6. Psalms 34:14-15, 7. James 1:19-20, 8. Proverbs 25:8,9, 9. Romans 12:1-2, 10. Philippians 4:8, 11. I Peter 5:6-8, 12. James 4:7-10, 13. Philippians 4:13.

The more our lives are in Christ, our abrasive deeds and personalities start disappearing from our lives. The person starts knocking off the rough edges of ones life. As that person matures, 100, 200 grit paper is used. The word of God is that refining miracle that takes place. This person is learning how to control the temper, stop drinking, stop swearing, and instead of these things in life, they are gone, they have been going to church, reading their bible, and maybe have gotten into a bible study to learn more quickly. Now they do not need any more sandpaper to smooth off the rough edges. What still needs to be done is to be on guard that any part of the old life style does not creep back into ones life ever again. Only Jesus knows which course of sand paper you need.
The more you read the quicker you understand and learn. There will be people who do not accept change in their life even a little bit, they stop reading, and think that where I am is just fine, they will never really get to the end of needing more sand paper to get them out off a bad cycle. Man will always need God’s word, because just as you get one challenge ended that our adversary the devil will bring something more into ones life to throw you off a little again. That is why you need the whole counsel of God. You will not need or think about sand paper again. Because the Holy Spirit that is inside you, He is helping you keep those rough edges from effecting you the way they did before you started your walk with Christ. All of this comes down to our behavior, it is in our control, but will we control it or let it control us.

One Sunday we had the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle church in Brooklyn, New York. He knew a man that had turned to drugs, leaving two children and his wife to live on the streets. One Sunday evening, in the service the whole church was praying for this man. Much to every body’s surprise, he walked through the door and gave his life to Christ. The pastor went up to give him a hug, and as he gave him a hug God spoke to him and said, Do not feel sorry for this man and think lesser of him because he smells. This smell I love, because a man has come out of the world, and into my kingdom to learn from me and live with me forever. Jesus is His name, and only He can change our lives, because man cannot change anything without God to Help him.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Works of the flesh

Galatians 5:19-21Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, ad things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:22-26 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.