Eugene Prewitt

Eugene Prewitt: 1 Corinthians 3

Neutered Sermons Do Not Produce New Births

Helping Others With The Word

I Plant and Water and Am Nothing

We Work Together With God

Ouachita Hills College

Our father in heaven. I asked this morning that you would be our teacher, that you'd help us understand what is true and right, and I asked in the name of Jesus, Amen. I wanna tell you this morning two stories and then give you a short Bible study. One of them if you wanted to try to follow Alan, although I'm not gonna tell it exactly as it's there, is found in one Samuel 14. That's the story about Jonathan, the man who was brave first. Where do you find the story of David and Goliath? Any of you know what chapter 17? This is three chapters before that you find Jonathan and his armor bear going up alone to the camp of the enemy winning and then a Saul in his scared few joining them and then people coming out of the rocks and Dans and wherever they were hiding, joining the battle fray. And as they're getting ready to march out to the enemy, Saul says, no one eat anything today or something like that. And so they went after them. Now, who was in the lead? Well that was Jonathan. So you know what he didn't hear? No, Don't eat anything as they're going through. There was some honey and no one would touch the honey. I'm sure Jonathan was thinking they don't understand. Anyway, he took a stick, he had some and then they went on and did what they could and the little strength they had, I'm sure he did more than the average When they came back, Saul had a question, should he continue going after them or not? And so he asked God for an answer. And you know what? God told him? God didn't tell him anything. So obviously someone had sinned. This is the thinking of Saul. And his question was, who was it? He said, whoever has sinned is gonna die. That's whether it is any of you. It doesn't matter, even if it's my son, Jonathan, whoever sin is gonna die. And then he asked God to give a perfect lot. That'd be similar if you didn't have God asking you to do it to you, asking God to help you roll the right numbers on dice. And it might seem remarkable to you that the lot came up with Jonathan, but statistically it had a one in four chance of doing it. Do you know how he, how he arranged for the lot? The first division was between Saul's folk, that is he and Jonathan and the rest of the army. 50 50 in that case, right? Well he got, he and his son. Would you know which one was the one that had sinned? It was Saul, but you know what the lot said, all same proves that God doesn't answer your prayer if you regard aquity in your heart and you should watch that when you're asking God for signs and this kind of thing, if God is not revealing to you what you should do in scripture, it probably isn't real safe to go asking him for a sign, at least if it's kind of sign where you could trick yourself into thinking you had an answer. So Saul got Jonathan and said, so what'd you do? And I wish we could hear Jonathan's tone of voice, but when I read it, I can't help but reading it with irony, had a great victory and tasted some honey and now I have to die. I like that's, but I don't know if that's what he did, but that's how I read it when I'm reading it. And so Saul said, you must die and let's look at the next verse. Turn your Bibles to one Samuel chapter 14 and we're looking at verse 45. First Samuel chapter 14 and verse 45. And the people said unto Saul, shall Jonathan die who have wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid, as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground for he has, what does it say, rot with God this day? So the people rescued Jonathan that he died not that's the beginning of our little study this morning. It's that phrase, rot with God. The people weren't willing for Jonathan to die because they knew he had been working with God. That is what we want to do is work with God. When we work with God, we don't know all the efficiency that's going to come from that kind of union. I suppose Jonathan had never guessed when he worked with God that the efficiency would be that he would be saved from the hands of his father's servants. But there are all kinds of blessings in the Bible that come from working with God. You remember what Jesus said in Matthew 11? He said, take my yoke upon you. Well, just that word yo communicates working with God. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly of heart and you will find rest of your souls for my, what's the word yo, for my yo is easy. Working with God not only gives you efficiency, but it takes a great burden off you. I don't mean that when you, you work with God, you don't have burdens. Jesus said, take my yolk on you. That's a burden. But I mean that you have strength to bear up under the burdens. His yolk is easy, his burden is light. If you ever did a word search on with God the first five references in the Bible, they're all in the Pentateuch. The first five would be so interesting to you. The first two would be within three verses of each other. It'd be about Enoch that Enoch walked with God 300 years after he had his son Mathusla. Two verses later, Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him a few chapters later, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and Noah walked with God. The next time the phrase shows up, it's about Jacob, it says that as a prince, he had power with God. And then you find that quoted later in the New Testament by Jose talking about the very same man Jacob. It said as a prince he had power with God. It's repeated that phrase power with God because the truth is that he became a symbol of all the faithful. That's why we're called children of Israel. In what way do you want to imitate Israel? He had a faulty life, but here's where he did right when he had power by being with God. The fifth reference you'd find in the Old Testament to being with God would be an Exodus 19 where it would say that Moses gathered all the people to meet with God. And what did God do when they all met with him in Exodus 19? You know, he appeared unto them and gave his 10 commandments. But I didn't tell you my second story yet. And the first one was the one about Jonathan. It's about at Jones. At Jones, the man who did such a mighty work for God in the 1880s and 1890s. In 1903 he received a letter from Ellen White. It was a letter that was a pivot point in the life of at Jones, according to the letter itself. How he received the letter would determine or would have a great part in determining his eternal destiny. We might never know how significant something we're reading in scripture is or something we find in the testimonies is it might never occur to us, but if it didn't occur to Jones, it was cuz he wasn't paying attention because the letter tells him over and over how significant it is. It it's very informative. He can find it in the correct collection called Battle Creek Letters. I brought a page of it with me. I'll read you some of it. This letter is pivotal because this is a letter that told at Jones that he should put his energy into winning Dr. Kellogg. And prior to reading this letter this morning, the larger part of it, I had gotten the idea that this letter said, go help Kellogg. And that a later letter warned him about doing it. But that is such a simplistic view that it's not even accurate. The letter that told him to work for Kellogg warned him so thoroughly about how to do it. Remember that your actions, words, looks, and thoughts are to be carefully guarded else. You will come short. Neither of you. This is written to Jones and a man named Tenny. Neither of you are developing as you ought, the traits of character that would make you safe. Guardians of your souls, who's the guardian of your soul. You know you are. And there are traits of character that makes you a safe guardian of yourself. And there are traits of character that make you an unsafe guardian of yourself. The word of God is to be something more to you than you make it. You need to have done in your hearts the purifying, cleansing, reformatory work of the spirit of God. Listen to the next paragraph. You may repeat the words of life many, many times and yet fail to make them a life saving power to your souls. Who's she writing to? Is it possible that Jones would repeat the words of life? You understand? That's a beautiful thing to say. Someone does. That he would speak the words of life many, many times and not make them. The eyes of both of you need to be anointed with the heavenly is a else your words and your example will mislead. When you closely and critically examine yourselves, you will find that you have a work to do for yourselves before you can skillfully apply the gospel remedy to such a man as Dr. Kellogg. So the letter that told Jones to help Kellogg, did it send him there? Heedlessly did it send him there immediately? What was he to do before helping Kellogg? Oh, a very close and critical examination of himself cultivating a different set of characteristics. You are both occupying positions of grave responsibility. The word of the living God must lead you to crucify self. If it becomes to you eternal life, it speaks as if they're not even converted. Do you hear it? You both need to drink deeply of the well of Bethlehem be be very particular how you deal with and explain the word of God. It cannot be to you spirit and life unless you practice it. So here's a sentence we might not get right. It says, be very careful how you read and interpret the word of God. And when I read that this morning, I thought like this, be very careful to make sure you do it accurately. Maybe it means that, but what does the next sentence say? You can't teach the word of God, right? Unless you practice It. You are both in need of the softening subduing influence that makes the heart of a man as the heart of a little child. Brother Jones, you are somewhat abrupt and makes sad mistakes in trying to deal with certain errors and sins as a faithful shepherd. What was he trying to do? You know, you can try to be a faithful shepherd and not succeed in trying to do that. You are often so abrupt that you spoil your efficiency. I'd like you to end up reading the rest of this, but I'm skipping down to the very end of it. For time's sake, you are God's husbandry. God's building. Suddenly that's familiar to us. What chapter is that in? In the Bible? First Corinthians three. You are laborers together with him. Will you not remember that word together? Keeping it ever in mind, sanctifies the soul. I've never forgotten that sentence from the first time I found it. Will you not remember that? You are laborers together with God keeping that word together ever in mind. Sanctifies the soul. The idea in the letter to Jones is that if he'd keep in mind that he's together with God, that he would be more careful to have God's spirit in the what he was doing keeping ever in mind he's reckoning with God, would modify and modulate what he's doing and soften subdue him and and give a right mold to his work. Turn your Bibles to one Corinthians chapter three, One Corinthians chapter three. We're looking at verse nine. For we are laborers together with God. You are God's vineyard. You are God's building vineyard or garden husbandry. So we started out this week saying that I have planted. Then we said, I have watered. Then we said, I am nothing though I have planted and though I've watered. Then we said we are united in serving God's word or sharing God's word. The idea today is that we are efficient when with God on, we've been skipping all along this idea that God gives the increase just illusions to it. But that's because it's the conclusion God gives the increase when we are with him, he gives the increase when we plant the word, he gives the increase. When we share the word, he gives the increase. When we recognize that we are nothing, he gives the increase when we are united in doing his work, he gives the increase in this verse when we keep in mind that we're working with him in such a way that it modulates or refines, modifies the way we do his work. That we share his word. But what do we do when we share his word? We make sure that we are obeying it. Jones didn't take the warnings seriously enough. I hope we do. Let's deal for prayer. Do you remember Jimmy, his family and prayer? Do you know he blood Pressure? No. I didn't know. Yeah, he got a phone call from his dad and his mom's blood pressure. Just A few. Okay, some Prayer. Her father in heaven, I've just heard that our brother Jimmy, has left to be with his mother. You've heard the great interest that she has expressed recently in having Bible studies. I asked that while he is home, that you would give him tact and skill and allow him to be a laborer together with you, that he can be efficient in helping her. I ask for everyone here that she would save us from the end of Brother Jones, that she would teach us how to keep ever in mind those words together with God, that you would use them to sanctify us, that you would allow us to have power by our being with you. And I ask for these gifts in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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Eugene Prewitt: 1 Corinthians 3

We Work Together With God

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Neutered Sermons Do Not Produce New Births

Helping Others With The Word

I Plant and Water and Am Nothing

We Work Together With God

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