Sermon Tone Analysis

Service Notes

Greg will lead the service

Dylan will preach 10 minutes from James

Tonight’s Proverb

Proverbs 28:1 “1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: But the righteous are bold as a lion.”

Introduction

Famous Painting

Dirk Willems was an Anabaptist.

This was dangerous in 1569, especially in the little town of Asperen, Holland.

Many of his friends there had given their lives for their faith.

Dirk himself was imprisoned in a castle for the same reason.

The castle was gated and surrounded by a moat.

As winter set in, however, the moat froze over.

Dirk tied some rags into a rope, slid out the window, and dropped onto the ice.

Quickly he crossed the moat and raced across a meadow.

Not quickly enough.

A guard saw him fleeing and went after him.

As they raced across the dutch landscape, Dirk cut across a dangerous section of ice.

Though he made it across, his pursuer did not.

He crashed through the ice, crying out for help.

Dirk was faced with a difficult choice.

Helping his pursuer could result in torture and death.

Many of his fellow Anabaptists had ended their lives in just that sort of glorious martyrdom for Christ.

Dirk proved himself a disciple.

"For me to live is Christ; and to die is gain."

He rescued his pursuer, pulling him from the frigid waters.

The obvious question is: did the guard let him go?

Unfortunately, though the guard was willing, the Roman Catholic burgermeister (mayor) told the guard to mind his oath, and Dirk was returned to the castle.

This time they were more careful, and soon after Dirk was sent to his heavenly reward by the fires of his persecutors.

We should live a life that reflects the Gospel of Christ

Phil 1:27-28 “27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.”

Gal 2:14 “14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?”

Let your life be an advertisement for how valuable the gospel is.

/ Ever watch a commercial and have no idea what it was about.

Let us not live lives like that.

One of the ways that our lives show the worth of the gospel is when the gospel makes us bold and courageous and unafraid.

Phil 1:28 “28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.”

Tonight we will look at this specific aspect of how the Gospel transforms us.

Bold as Lions

Proverbs 28:1 (KJV 1900)

1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: But the righteous are bold as a lion.

There is a correlation between wickedness and fear on the one hand, and righteousness and courage on the other hand.

Doesn’t mean the wicked cannot be bold.

Proverbs 14:16 “16 A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: But the fool rageth, and is confident.”

Nor does it mean the righteous will not battle being timid and cowardly.

Boldness requires enabling by the Holy Spirit.

Acts 4:31 “31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”

Paul needed to remind Timothy we have been called to a new life.

2 Tim 1:7 “7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Why does the wicked flee when no man pursues?

This speaks of a confusion and fear that properly belong to the wicked, not to the godly and wise.

This is both because they are under God’s displeasure and because they lack the strength and courage of the Holy Spirit.

What is the conscience?

My first thoughts about “conscience” take me to Jimeny Cricket in the Pinocchio cartoon.

The Cricket talk about there are times the wrong things seem right and the right things seem wrong.

When you get in trouble and you don't know right from wrong,

Give a little whistle!

Give a little whistle!

When you meet temptation and the urge is very strong,

Give a little whistle!

Give a little whistle!

Not just a little squeak,

Pucker up and blow.

And if your whistle's weak, yell "Jiminy Cricket!"

Take the straight and narrow path

And if you start to slide,

Give a little whistle!

Give a little whistle!

And always let your conscience be your guide!

And always let your conscience be your guide!

Four New Testament truths about our conscience.

Our conscience is a God-given capacity for human beings to exercise self-evaluation.

Paul refers several times to his own conscience being “good” or “clear” Acts 23:1 “1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”

Acts 24:16 “16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.”

The conscience is seen as a witness to something Romans 2:14-15 “14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)” Romans 9:1 “1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,”

The conscience is a servant of the individual’s value system.

An immature or weak value system produces a weak conscience, while a fully informed value system produces a strong sense of right and wrong.

Romans 14:5 “5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike.

Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”

A conscience that is “seared” or rendered insensitive as though it had been cauterized with a hot iron. 1 Tim 4:1-2 “1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;” Eph 4:19 “19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”

Example of an unclear conscience causing a man to flee

Genesis 3:8 “8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.”

We find Adam afraid of the presence of God.

Genesis 3:9 -10 “9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

Tell-Tale Heart

True! — nervous — very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?

The disease had sharpened my senses — not destroyed — not dulled them.

Above all was the sense of hearing acute.

I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth.

I heard many things in hell.

How, then, am I mad?

Hearken! and observe how healthily — how calmly I can tell you the whole story.

Never before did Adam have to flee at the arrival of God.

Adam now he flees when no one is pursuing.

Why?

Because his conscience condemns him and he hears this condemnation in every breeze that blows and every creak in the door and every whistle on the field; he sees it in every shadow and every flashing light; and he feels it in the presence of God.

Woe to the wicked who cease to hear the footsteps of God in the garden.

Thatcher and Ben Mize speaking about how humans were different than animals and why that allowed them to be the best long distance runners.

Humans have a conscience.

They carry guilt and shame for doing wrong regardless if they have read in a book or been taught what they are doing is wrong.