Sermon Tone Analysis

The story may be apocryphal, but it illustrates the point that this chapter makes.

In a certain church, there was a man who always ended his prayers with, “And, Lord, clean the cobwebs out of my life!

Clean the cobwebs out of my life!”

One of the members of the church became weary of hearing this same insincere request week after week, because he saw no change in the petitioner’s life.

So, the next time he heard the man pray, “Lord, clean the cobwebs out of my life!” he interrupted with, “And while you’re at it, Lord, kill the spider!”

It’s one thing to offer the Lord a passionate prayer of confession, such as we have in chapter 9, and quite something else to live an obedient life after we say “Amen.”

But

3 proofs of repentance.

I. Dedication To God (1-27)

Oath — Like saying, “May God Strike me Dead If you I don’t do this.”

They signed on the dotted line knowing the full implications of their actions.

What happened to the signers of the Declaration of Independence?

This is the Price They Paid

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British.

Richard Stockton of New Jersey was the only signer taken prisoner specifically because of his status as a signatory to the Declaration, “dragged from his bed by night” by local Tories after he had evacuated his family from New Jersey, and imprisoned in New York City’s infamous Provost Jail like a common criminal.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

One lost his son in the revolutionary army, another had two sons captured.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.

Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well educated.

But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy.

He sold his home and properties to pay his debts.

Thomas McKean said in a letter to John Adams, he was “hunted like a fox by the enemy, compelled to remove my family five times in three months, and at last fixed them in a little log-house on the banks of the Susquehanna, but they were soon obliged to move again on account of the incursions of the Indians.”

He served in the Congress without pay, His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers or both, looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Rutledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters.

The owner quietly urged General George Washington to open fire.

The home was badly damaged by cannon fire, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.

The enemy jailed his wife for several months.

John Hart was driven from his home.

His 13 children fled for their lives.

His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste.

Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution.

These were not wild eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians.

They were soft-spoken men of means and education.

They had security, but they valued liberty more.

Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: “For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

II.

Separation To God (28-31)

A. Separate in Marriage (30)

Weirsbe

“As long as we love each other, it will work out!” is the argument many pastors hear from Christians who want to marry unsaved people.

But the question is not, “Will this marriage work out?” but, “Will this marriage enjoy God’s best blessing and fulfill God’s will?” It’s difficult to see how God can bless and use people who deliberately disobey His Word

B. Separate in Business (31)

Not Isolation from the unsaved or the world in general like the monks do, but spiritual separation and corresponding physical separation.

III.

Giving To God (32-39)

A. Giving the Temple Tax (32-33)

B. Giving Wood (34)

C. Giving First Fruits (35-37)

D. Giving Offerings (37-39)

Tithing can be a great blessing, but those who tithe must avoid at least three dangers: (1) giving with the wrong motive, out of a sense of duty, fear, or greed (“If I tithe, God must prosper me!”); (2) thinking that they can do what they please with the 90 percent that remains; (3) giving only the tithe and failing to give love offerings to the Lord

Sir Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

How do you know if you experiencing revival?

If you are you will Dedicate yourself to God, Separate yourself to God, and Give Willingly to God.