In essentials, unity; in
non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity....St. Augustine often
quoted by John Wesley
Arnold was born into a well-respected family in
Norwich, Connecticut, on January 14, 1741. He apprenticed with an apothecary
and was a member of the militia during the French and Indian War (1754-1763).
He later became a successful trader and joined the Continental Army when the
Revolutionary War broke out between Great Britain and its 13 American colonies
in 1775. When the war ended in 1883, the colonies had won their independence
from Britain and formed a new nation, the United States.
During the war, Benedict Arnold proved himself a
brave and skillful leader, helping Ethan Allen's troops capture Fort
Ticonderoga in 1775 and then participating in the unsuccessful attack on
British Quebec later that year, which earned him a promotion to brigadier
general. Arnold distinguished himself in campaigns at Lake Champlain,
Ridgefield and Saratoga, and gained the support of George Washington. However,
Arnold had enemies within the military and in 1777, five men of lesser rank
were promoted over him. Over the course of the next few years, Arnold married
for a second time and he and his new wife lived a lavish lifestyle in
Philadelphia, accumulating substantial debt. The debt and the resentment Arnold
felt over not being promoted faster were motivating factors in his choice to
become a turncoat.
In 1780, Arnold was given command of West Point,
an American fort on the Hudson River in New York (and future home of the U.S.
military academy, established in 1802). Arnold contacted Sir Henry Clinton,
head of the British forces, and proposed handing over West Point and his men.
On September 21 of that year, Arnold met with Major John Andre and made his
traitorous pact. However, the conspiracy was uncovered and Andre was captured
and executed. Arnold, the former American patriot, fled to the enemy side and
went on to lead British troops in Virginia and Connecticut. He later moved to
England, though he never received all of what he'd been promised by the
British. He died in London on June 14, 1801. (www.history.com)
This, of course, was Benedict Arnold, a name synonymous with traitor!
The
path to becoming Absalom
When you read the bible,
after Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord Jesus, there is no more treacherous
traitor than Absalom, the son of king David.
Absalom had a lot going
for him
· Good looking
· King’s son
· Had influence
But a tragedy occurred
to Absalom’s sister, she was raped by her brother, and Absalom was disgruntled
with how the king dealt with it.
David allowed his love
for his son to sway him away from the justice that should have been done.
All the while Absalom
was watching.
Life isn’t fair, and
there are times when bad things happen to good people. There are times when leaders, or brothers and
sisters in the church, drop the ball.
· Not so much what happens to us but what happens
in us
· Not so much the situation but how we respond to
it
· Illus: Two grown dogs were talking and the one
shared a story of when he was a puppy. There once was little boy who had a
puppy. He loved the puppy and played
with the puppy and the puppy loved him.
The puppy would do anything for that little boy. Then one day another dog came around and the
boy was enthralled with that dog. He
loved the new dog and the puppy became second fiddle. Once while the puppy was playing fetch with
the boy, the boy threw the stick and the puppy ran to fetch the stick and while
he was gone, the new dog came and the boy started petting the other dog and
forgot about the puppy and the stick.
· At the end of the story the other dog said “that
was long ago, how do you recall all those details and the hurt?” The dog said “I
am still carrying the stick!”
Absalom carried that
stick for two long years and eventually he had his brother killed. But bitterness has far reaching roots.
Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the
grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby
many be defiled;
His bitterness caused
him to sew discord in the nation. He
created a false perception that David didn’t care.
“If I were king, I would
take time for you.”
This eventually lodged
in the minds of the people till they actually believed that David didn’t care.
(Though David had his faults, the love he had for the people of Israel is
marked throughout the story of his life!)
His words and deeds,
split the nation, caused a war, and took the lives of many thousands including
his own.
Let me share with you
how this happens and how the devil does this today.
· It’s not like it once was (People who say this
are saying that they have changed, because our spirituality is our own doing!)
· When you go over their house, just watch, look,
pay attention, you will see, you have the Holy Ghost.
· When you go to that church, look…
What they are
endeavoring to do is to sew a false perception in your mind and get you to look
for things that are negative.
But my bible tells me to
Think on these things!
Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are
true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good
report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these
things.
We need to show grace to
one another
· If we want grace and understanding, we need to
show it, to leaders, to brothers and sisters
We need to love in spite
of others' faults
· Rick Warren’s son and his suicide
· The times when he had to cancel a meeting and
couldn’t tell the world it was because of his son’s illness.
· We don’t know what other people are going
through.
We need to reject those
who would create a false perception, in our mind.
For those who would come
up next to you and say:
· What do you think about Sis. So N So?
· What do you think about what Pastor taught last
night?
· I just don’t feel that the church is as loving
as it ought to be…
That is the devil trying
to form a perception in your mind, a preconceived idea that will make you prone
to look for the worst!
We can’t let that
happen!
Ladies I know
· throw birthday parties
· have baby showers
· write cards
· pray for one another
· buy clothes and shoes for other people’s kids
· cook food for those suffering a loss in their
family
· visit folks in the hospital
· help others clean their house
· sometimes have babysat for free
· volunteer their time to decorate for Sunday
School and the church
· Taken people to the doctors office
The men that I know
· put gas in other people's tanks
· paid their automobile insurance
· taught other people's children how to ride a
bicycle
· help them get their car fixed
· pick them up for church
· pray for them
· lent their truck out
· helped people move
· Made jobs and paid others out of their own
pocket to help them
We need to be loyal to
God our church our leaders
APPLICATION:
· I will have a forgiving spirit
· I will deal directly with God and with my
brother
Pro 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he
that soweth discord among brethren.
Mat 18:7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it
must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence
cometh!
Offences is defined
thusly:
G4625
σκάνδαλον
skandalon
Thayer Definition:
1) the movable stick or trigger
of a trap, a trap stick
1a) a trap, snare
( A stick that triggers the
trap that puts you in the jail!)
Luk 17:1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is
impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they
come!
Rom 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which
cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned;
and avoid them.
2Ti 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose
themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging
of the truth;
2Ti 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of
the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
(satan-adversary,
opponent)
Jude 1:18-21
18 How that they told you there should be
mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19 These be they who separate themselves,
sensual, having not the Spirit.
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on
your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking
for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Unsettled questions
rattle around in our hearts like loose cannons.
Search the Scriptures! Go
To God! Ask the pastor! Get the answer!
When we lose our
certainty, we stop moving forward.
When you don't know
where you're going, you don't go very fast.
When the devil has
succeeded in getting you to doubt your leaders, or your brothers, he ruins your
effectiveness for God, and cripples your growth.
2Ch 20:20 And they rose early in the morning, and went
forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood
and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe
in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so
shall ye prosper.
The friendship of the
world is enmity with God.
You must choose to be a
friend of God or a friend of the world.
If you are a friend of
them that sow discord, you are no friend of God, and no friend of mine.
Pro 18:19 A brother offended is harder to be
won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the
bars of a castle.
Mar 6:3 Is
not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and
of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
Rom 14:21 It
is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby
thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
