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A legend tells of a knot, which had been
tied by king Gordius. An oracle had declared that
the man who could untie this knot would become the
conqueror of all Asia. It defied all comers until
Alexander the Great came to Phrygia, saw the knot,
and promptly cut through it with his sword. Whether
true or not, it serves to illustrate the point that
it is better to approach things with the simplest
solution.
This message is about some of the knotty
problems men face.
Mat 17:14 And when they were come to
the multitude, there came to him a certain man,
kneeling down to him, and saying,
Mat 17:15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is a
lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth
into the fire, and oft into the water.
Mat 17:16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and
they could not cure him.
Mat 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless
and perverse generation, how long shall I be with
you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither
to me.
Mat 17:18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he
departed out of him: and the child was cured from
that very hour.
Mat 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart,
and said, Why could not we cast him out?
Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of
your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have
faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto
this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it
shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto
you.
Mark 11:20 And in the morning, as they passed
by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
Mark 11:21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith
unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou
cursedst is withered away.
Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have
faith in God.
John 11:40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto
thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest
see the glory of God?
John 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the
place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up
his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou
hast heard me.
John 11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always:
but because of the people which stand by I said it,
that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
John 11:43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried
with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
John 11:44 And he that was dead came forth, bound
hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was
bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them,
Loose him, and let him go.
Each of these events in the ministry of
Jesus tells us of a situation, which was too much
for the disciples to handle. In every case Jesus
exhorted them to greater faith and solved the
problem for them. Instances could be multiplied
where, as men sought to solve a problem, He cut
through the complications and solved it.
The storm with Jesus asleep. "Peace be still!"
The ship about to sink with Paul aboard. "I believe
God"
The church praying for Peter’s release from prison.
"Peter is at the gate!"
Sennacharib’s defeat.
2 Ki 19:35 And it came to pass that night, that
the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the
camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five
thousand: and when they arose early in the morning,
behold, they were all dead corpses.
2 Ki 19:36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed,
and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh
5. Victory over the Assyrians by four lepers
who resigned themselves to the will of God..
2 Ki 7:3 And there were four leprous men at the
entering in of the gate: and they said one to
another, Why sit we here until we die?
2 Ki 7:4 If we say, We will enter into the city,
then the famine is in the city, and we shall die
there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now
therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the
Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and
if they kill us, we shall but die.
2 Ki 7:5 And they rose up in the twilight, to go
unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were
come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria,
behold, there was no man there.
2 Ki 7:6 For the Lord had made the host of the
Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of
horses, even the noise of a great host: and they
said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath
hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the
kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.
2 Ki 7:7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the
twilight, and left their tents, and their horses,
and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled
for their life.
2 Ki 7:8 And when these lepers came to the uttermost
part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did
eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold,
and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again,
and entered into another tent, and carried thence
also, and went and hid it.
2 Ki 7:9 Then they said one to another, We do not
well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold
our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some
mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that
we may go and tell the king's household.
2 Ki 7:10 So they came and called unto the porter of
the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the
camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man
there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and
asses tied, and the tents as they were.
2 Ki 7:11 And he called the porters; and they told
it to the king's house within.
2 Ki 7:12 And the king arose in the night, and said
unto his servants, I will now show you what the
Syrians have done to us. They know that we be
hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to
hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come
out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get
into the city.
2 Ki 7:13 And one of his servants answered and said,
Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that
remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they
are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in
it: behold, I say, they are even as all the
multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and
let us send and see.
2 Ki 7:14 They took therefore two chariot horses;
and the king sent after the host of the Syrians,
saying, Go and see.
2 Ki 7:15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and,
lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels,
which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And
the messengers returned, and told the king.
The king and his people were STILL
trying to untie the knot!
I. The Practical Application of the Theme.
Christ will someday slice through the tangle of
world affairs. Men fumble from conference table to
summit meetings, make plans, discard them arm,
disarm, re-arm, march, elect, overthrow and the
problem is still with us.
Like the Ephesian town council.
Acts 19:32 Some therefore cried one thing, and
some another: for the assembly was confused; and the
more part knew not wherefore they were come
together. And like the Jews in Jerusalem;
Acts 21:34 And some cried one thing, some
another, among the multitude: and when he could not
know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him
to be carried into the castle.
Watch as Christ solves the problems of
the centuries. Homeland for the Jews, Boundaries of
the nations, legal and moral questions,
abortion, lifestyles, who will fill what office etc.
Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a
white horse; and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth
judge and make war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on
his head were many crowns; and he had a name
written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped
in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven
followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine
linen, white and clean.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,
that with it he should smite the nations:
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he
treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath
of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his
thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF
LORDS.
Why exult in what He WILL do in the future
and yet despair because we will not allow Him to do
His will today? (Does He count for more in the
world’s future than in His people’s present?) Let
the sword of the Spirit slice through the knot of
human affairs!
Whether in family, church, neighborhoods or
politics, human nature can complicate differences
until it is almost impossible to sort them out. God
has the answer.
1 COR 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the
same thing, and that there be no divisions among
you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the
same mind and in the same judgment.
Phil 4:2 I beseech Audis, and beseech Syntyche, that
they be of the same mind in the Lord.
How to do this?
1 Pet 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered
for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with
the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the
flesh hath ceased from sin;
1 Pet 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of
his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to
the will of God.
The hard knot of domestic difficulties.
If both are saved and submissive to the will of God
the Word will slice through all problems.
If the woman is obligated, by the
scriptures, to heed her head, the husband, then how
much more is the man obligated to honor his head,
Christ?
Cut through the knot of marriage problems
with mutual submission to God and there will be no
argument over who should carry the garbage out!
In your personal relationship with God.
Cut through the devil’s attempts to complicate
things.
In the plan of salvation there is no equivocating.
Repent and believe.
In the order of your service to God, follow His
plan. Baptism, church membership.
II. Let Jesus slice through the hard knot of
human reasoning, lust and rebellion and you will
welcome His right to reign! |
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