26/10/11

Man's self-respect his downfall

Mark 6:26, 27 - And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,

In today's message we read that King Herod was aware of who John the Baptist was, and history also tells us he had a good relationship with John until he declared Herod's marriage with Herodias unlawful. John after Moses had one of the largest numbers of followers any Man of God ever had till that time.

We read Herod after getting seduced by the daughter of Herodias (his step daughter) he gave her a wish of her choice. He did it not once but twice that too second time with an oath. When she asked for the head of John he fell in the trap. On one hand was an old friend and on the other hand was his self-respect.

There were 2 things that got him to do the wrong decision, one was him honouring his word and second his self-respect in front of his guest.

The Word of God tells us very clearly never to give an oath especially ones which we cannot deliver and Jesus specified to us in the Word that we should refrain from swearing by things which are out of our hands or not ours like the Heavens or the Throne of God and we should realize by what we swear.

The second important factor is even though Herod realized he made a mistake, he did not repent for it. To keep his respect in front of his guest he went ahead and made a more serious crime. The Bible tells us to be humble and if we have made a mistake we should never fear to admit it before God and before the people. It is our admittance to our mistakes that gets us forgiveness from God.

The Lord in today's message tells us to be very careful on these 2 points in our life. A human tongue is the strongest muscle of the human body but the weak part of man. We should learn to control it and if we lose control of it and make a mistake, we should not fear or be ashamed to admit it before God or the people.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, your Word gives us the knowledge of the power in what we speak. When we speak life and believe it, life flows in us. But if we speak death and believe it, then darkness and death comes into us. Lord, we pray for control over this muscle which is in our mouth. Help us to use it according to your Word which is life. Help us to admit to our mistakes especially when we speak the wrong things. Help us be humble before you...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]
Mark 6:21-28
21 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;
22 And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.
23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.
26 And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.
27 And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.

Matthew 5:34-37
34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Matthew 23:16-22
16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.


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