Introduction and Review

Weaver reviews the previous message, emphasizing that forsaking God stems from lightly esteeming Him, as seen in Deuteronomy 32:15. He recaps how Israel, Demas, and even disciples forsook God and Christ due to contempt.

Deuteronomy 32. And look, if you would please, at verse 15. I began this message last week. I want to continue it today. The title of the message is, "Why Do We Forsake God?" Deuteronomy 32, verse 15:

Last week we began this study in order to demonstrate that much of our failure in life is due to a light estimation of the sovereign God and of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches us that men depart from God when they esteem Him lightly and hold Him in contempt.

They do not honor Him. They do not care for Him. They don't even count Him worthy of consideration. So last week we looked particularly at how the children of Israel forsook God. We looked at how Demas forsook the Apostle Paul. And it may even surprise you to learn that in the New Testament, many of the disciples even forsook the Lord Jesus Christ. For in John 6 and verse 66, after He got through teaching that He was indeed the bread of life, the Bible says,

Now, why was God forsaken? Well, the answer is given to us in Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 15, when the Bible says, "Then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation." I told you last week that the Hebrew word for "lightly esteemed" is the word nabal, which is very emphatic.

It means to dishonor, to make vile, to treat as foolish, to treat or regard with contempt, or to treat or regard as a thing of naught. So since they treated God as vile and foolish, and as a thing of naught, since they held Him in contempt, it was very easy then for them to walk away from Him and go to other gods as well. So they lightly esteemed the God of their salvation. They contemptuously viewed Him as someone unworthy of their worship and honor, and therefore they forsook Him. So if you and I do not wish to commit the same sins, if we do not wish to forsake God, then we have to highly esteem and honor Him and worship Him and count Him as the sovereign God of heaven and earth and, of course, His Son as well, the Lord Jesus Christ. And you remember I pointed out the fact there in John chapter 5, the Bible says that He's committed all judgment to the Son. Why? "That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father." And then He went on to say, "He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father." So I pointed out you cannot have one attitude toward Christ and a different attitude toward the Father. If you honor Christ, you're going to honor the Father. If you honor the Father, you're going to honor Christ.

When Men Lightly Esteem the Spirit of God, They Forsake Him

Weaver introduces the third point: forsaking the Holy Spirit by doing despite to Him, as in Hebrews 10:29, which means insulting and holding Him in contempt. He illustrates with the Pharisees' blasphemy against the Spirit in Matthew 12.

It means to dishonor, to make vile, to treat as foolish, to treat or regard with contempt, or to treat or regard as a thing of naught. So since they treated God as vile and foolish, and as a thing of naught, since they held Him in contempt, it was very easy then for them to walk away from Him and go to other gods as well. So they lightly esteemed the God of their salvation. They contemptuously viewed Him as someone unworthy of their worship and honor, and therefore they forsook Him. So if you and I do not wish to commit the same sins, if we do not wish to forsake God, then we have to highly esteem and honor Him and worship Him and count Him as the sovereign God of heaven and earth and, of course, His Son as well, the Lord Jesus Christ. And you remember I pointed out the fact there in John chapter 5, the Bible says that He's committed all judgment to the Son. Why? "That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father." And then He went on to say, "He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father." So I pointed out you cannot have one attitude toward Christ and a different attitude toward the Father. If you honor Christ, you're going to honor the Father. If you honor the Father, you're going to honor Christ.

So I want to pick this up today and give you the third point, and that is this. The first point was when men lightly esteem the sovereign God, they forsake Him. The second point was when men lightly esteem the Son of God, they forsake Him. And so the third point is when men lightly esteem the Spirit of God, they forsake Him. I want you to hold Deuteronomy 32, but look in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 29. I want to show you not only a verse, but particularly a word that is used in regard to the Holy Spirit. Notice if you would, Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 29. Notice if you would what the Scripture says: "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" Note if you would that phrase, "and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace."

The word "despite" refers to that which is insulting. It literally means to have reproached, or to treat with malignity, or to hold in contempt. So literally this verse says what men do to the Holy Spirit is they insult Him, they reproach Him, they treat Him with malignity, and of course they hold Him in contempt. John Trapp, the old Puritan, described this as, and I'm quoting, "spitting at Him their hellish venom, persecuting and blaspheming His immediate effect, work, and office, and this out of desperate malice, and desire of revenge without any color, cause, or measure of dislike." So John says what doing despite to the Holy Spirit is, is spitting at Him their hellish venom, persecuting and blaspheming His immediate effect and work out of desperate malice.

Now, let me give you an illustration of that. Now I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12. Years ago I preached an entire message on this passage. I'm not going to re-preach that message, but I do want you to see it in light of this fact of how they did despite to the Spirit of grace. Notice if you would, Matthew chapter 12, beginning there with verse 23, and we'll read through verse 32, and you're going to see exactly what John Trapp was talking about when he was referring to doing despite to the Spirit of grace. Notice Matthew chapter 12 and verse 23: "And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?"

"But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?" "Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."

"Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." Now let me ask you a question. What is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost? Well in the context, blasphemy against the Holy Ghost was here committed by the Pharisees. It is when they ascribe the work of God the Holy Spirit to the evil one or to Satan. In other words, here they are knowingly, willingly, deliberately, and premeditatedly, after they see the mighty power of God, the Holy Spirit, in working miracles, that they then maliciously ascribe it to the evil one. So blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is when one sees and knows it is the work of God, and then you turn around and say, it's the work of the devil.

Grieving the Holy Spirit

Weaver explains that believers can grieve the Spirit through rebellion and sin, citing Isaiah 63:10 and Ephesians 4:30. He uses commentators to detail sins like anger, ingratitude, and neglect that cause grief and lead to spiritual darkness.

Now let me ask you a question. What is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost? Well in the context, blasphemy against the Holy Ghost was here committed by the Pharisees. It is when they ascribe the work of God the Holy Spirit to the evil one or to Satan. In other words, here they are knowingly, willingly, deliberately, and premeditatedly, after they see the mighty power of God, the Holy Spirit, in working miracles, that they then maliciously ascribe it to the evil one. So blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is when one sees and knows it is the work of God, and then you turn around and say, it's the work of the devil. And our Lord says that is the sin that will not be forgiven in this life. I'm not saying that that sin can be committed today, it may or may not can, but I am saying this. In the context, it was when Jesus himself worked a miracle, and they saw it, and then they deliberately and purposefully ascribed the work of the Holy Spirit through which he did that work, to the work of the evil one. Now there are numerous commands in the Bible concerning the work of the Holy Spirit. If you and I are to avoid the sins of the fathers, then we must understand what we are not to do in reference to the Holy Spirit.

For instance, if you'll go in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 63 and verse 10, and then go ahead and find Ephesians chapter 4 if you would please. Ephesians chapter 4, we'll go there second after we go to Isaiah 63. Go to Isaiah 63 if you would please. And look if you would at verse 10. Isaiah 63 and verse 10. Notice what the Bible says happened by the fathers. Isaiah 63 and verse 10, the scripture says,

So they vexed the Holy Spirit by rebelling against God, and therefore God was turned to be their enemy, and God fought against them.

Now the Hebrew word here for "vexed" literally means to grieve, to displease, to hurt, to vex, and to cause pain. Now we have exactly the same truth in the New Testament. So if you look in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 30, Ephesians 4 and verse 30, I want you to note this command. Ephesians 4 and verse 30, where the scripture says this: "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

So you have to ask yourself this question. How can one grieve the Holy Spirit? Now the word "grieve" here literally means to make sorrowful, to grieve, to offend, to cause sadness, to cause grief, and to be in heaviness. I don't have time to read the whole of Ephesians chapter 4. You can, when you get home, read what precedes verse 30 and read what follows verse 30. But what I want to do is this, I want to give you several statements from three different commentators on what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit, and every one of these are taking it right in its context. The first one is Albert Barnes. I want you to listen to what he said.

His is the most lengthy. He says, "The common meaning is to treat others so as to cause grief. We're not to suppose that the Holy Spirit literally endures grief or pain by the conduct of men. The language is such as is fitted to describe that which men endure, and is applied to him to denote that kind of conduct which is fitted to cause grief. And the meaning here is, do not pursue such a course as is fitted in its own nature to pain the benevolent heart of a holy being. Do not act toward the Holy Spirit in a manner which would produce pain in the bosom of a friend who loves you. There's a course of conduct which will drive that spirit from the mind as if he were grieved and pained, as a course of ingratitude and sin would pain the heart of an earthly friend and cause him to leave you."

"If asked what that conduct is, we may reply," and here's where he begins to analyze this passage. Listen carefully. Here's what would grieve the Holy Spirit. First, he says, "open and gross sins. They are particularly referred to here, and the meaning of Paul is that theft, falsehood, anger, and kindred vices would grieve the Holy Spirit. Number two, anger in all of its forms. Nothing is more fitted to drive away all serious and tender impressions from the mind than the indulgence of anger. Number three, licentious thoughts and desires. The Spirit of God is pure."

"And He dwells not in the soul of him that is filled with corrupt imaginations. Number four, ingratitude. We feel ingratitude more than almost anything else. And why should we suppose that the Holy Spirit would not sense it as well? Number five, neglect. The Spirit of God is grieved by that. Often He prompts us to pray. He disposes the mind to seriousness, to the perusal of the Bible, to tenderness and to penitence. We neglect those favored moments of our piety, and we lose those happy seasons for becoming like God." So, Barnes is taking Ephesians 4 in its context, and he's saying this is what grieves the Holy Spirit. Now, Adam Clarke says it like this: "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God by giving way to any wrong temper, unholy word, or unrighteous action. Even those who have already a measure of light and life of God, both which are not only brought in by the Holy Spirit, but maintained by His constant indwelling, may give way to sin. And so grieve this Holy Spirit, that it shall withdraw both its light and presence, and in proportion as it withdraws, then hardness and darkness take place."

"And what is still worse, a state of insensibility is the consequence. For the darkness prevents the fallen state from being seen, and the hardness prevents it from being felt." One last comment from Matthew Henry. "By looking to what precedes," he's talking about verse 30, "and what follows verse 30, we may see what it is that grieves the Spirit of God. In the previous verses, it is intimated that all lewdness and filthiness and lying and corrupt communications that stir up filthy appetites and lusts grieve the Spirit of God. In what follows, it is intimated that those corrupt passions of bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking and malice grieve this Good Spirit." So, what the Bible says in Isaiah 63 and verse 10, "they vexed his holy Spirit." What they did was they grieved Him. The same thing that God tells us not to do. How did they vex Him? How did they grieve Him in Isaiah 63 and verse 10? By their rebellion. How do you grieve Him in Ephesians chapter 4? By your rebellion. By doing those things that He says not to do. And by having those attitudes in you which He tells you not to have. And the interesting thing is, when we grieve Him, He does withdraw the light of His presence.

And His power as well. And it leaves us in a temporary state of darkness and hardness. So, why in the world do we forsake the Holy Spirit? And the answer is going to come back, because we lightly esteem Him. Now, He tells us to grieve not the Holy Spirit. But I want you to know there is something else that we can do. I want you to look in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5.

Quenching the Holy Spirit

Weaver discusses the command in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 not to quench the Spirit, meaning to stifle His influence. He explains that worldliness, neglect of spiritual disciplines, and unholy tempers can extinguish the Spirit's fire in the believer's life.

And notice if you would please verse 19. Here's another direct command. Not only does God say, "grieve not the Holy Spirit," but look at this. 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 19:

This is another command. Quench not the Spirit. Now let me tell you what the word "quench" means. It means to stifle. It means to cause to go out, and to suppress. It is a word that is used to denote the stifling of a fire, or smothering the fire, or quenching its flames.

Now again, I want to just give you two comments. The first one is from Albert Barnes. Listen carefully. "This language is taken from the way of putting out a fire. And the sense is that we're not to extinguish the influences of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. And possibly there may be an allusion here to the fire on the altar, which was to be kept constantly burning. This fire may have been regarded as emblematic of devotion, and as denoting that devotion which was never to become extinct. The Holy Spirit is the source of true devotion, and hence the enkindlings of piety in the heart, by the Spirit, are never to be quenched. Fire may be put out by pouring on water, or by covering it with any incombustible substance, or by neglecting to supply its fuel."

"If it is made to burn, it must be nourished with proper care and attention. The Holy Spirit in His influences on the soul is here compared with a fire that might be made to burn more intensely, or might be extinguished. In a similar manner, the Apostle Paul gives this direction to Timothy: 'I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God.' Anything that will tend to dampen the ardor of piety in the soul, to chill our feelings, to render us cold and lifeless in the service of God, may be regarded as quenching the Spirit." "Neglect of cultivating Christian graces, of prayer, of the Bible, of the sanctuary, of a careful watchfulness over the heart will do it. Worldliness, vanity, levity, ambition, pride, the love of dress, or indulgence, or an improper train of thought will do it. It is a great rule in religion that all the piety which there is in the soul is the fair result of culture. A man has no more religion than he intends to have, and has no graces of the Spirit which he does not seek. He has no deadness to the world which is not the object of his sincere desire, which he does not aim to have."

"Anyone, if he will, may make elevated attainments in the divine life, or if he will, may make his religion merely a religion of form and know little of its power and its consolation." So what he is saying is this. You have a responsibility before God not to quench the Spirit. You have a responsibility to keep the fire burning in that sense of the word. You have a responsibility to fuel the fire by prayer, by study, by devotion, by worship. You have a responsibility to guard your heart and to keep out of your heart those things that would quench the Spirit. Adam Clarke says it like this: "The Holy Spirit is represented as a fire because it is providence to enlighten and quicken the soul and to purge and purify and refine it. This Spirit is represented as being quenched when any act is done, word spoken, or temper indulged contrary to its dictates. It is a spirit of love, and therefore anger, malice, revenge, or any unkind or unholy temper will quench it so that it will withdraw its influences."

"And then the heart is left in a state of hardness and darkness. It has been observed that fire may be quenched as well by heaping earth on it, as by throwing water on it. And so the love of the world will as effectually grieve and quench the Holy Spirit as any ordinary act of transgression." Now let me point something out. Most Christians have never really considered the person of the Holy Spirit, or the work of the Holy Spirit, or the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, we oftentimes ignore Him. May I remind you, we have one God who's revealed Himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

Weaver clarifies the personhood of the Holy Spirit despite the neuter Greek noun, and explains the economical Trinity: all things are out of the Father, through the Son, and in the Spirit. He stresses the Spirit's role in regeneration, conviction, and sanctification.

Now let me just clear up something right here, just momentarily. Because when I read Adam Clarke, he kept saying, "it is the spirit of love, we do not want to quench it." The Holy Spirit is a person. He is not an it. Now let me explain why you're going to read sometimes in theological books as to why the Holy Spirit is referred to as an it. I dislike it, but here it is. The word for spirit is pneuma. Hagios pneuma, the Holy Spirit. Pneuma is a neuter word in the Greek language. And since it is a neuter, it's not masculine, it's not feminine, it's neuter. Theologically—not theologically, good Greek grammar would say "it." But theologically, we would say "He," because He is a person. So if I'm translating from the Greek, and I see pneuma, and I realize it is a neuter, I would not put "he," and certainly I'd not put "she," but I'd put "it." It may be good Greek grammar, but it's not necessarily good theology, because the Holy Spirit is indeed a person.

We've got to remember that the Holy Spirit is the agent in regeneration. He's the agent in conviction and conversion. He's the agent in sanctification. He's the agent in intercession, and a host of other applications in our lives. Now let me just show you how important the ministry of the Holy Spirit is. Whenever you begin to talk about the Trinity, if you read a theological book, say you take Berkhof's Systematic Theology, you're going to read about the ontological Trinity, and you're going to read about the economical Trinity. Now the ontological Trinity is just from the Greek word ontos, which is the word for being. And all the ontological Trinity is, is the logical order of derivation: Father, Son, and Spirit. That's all it is. That's the ontological Trinity. Father, Son, and Spirit. The economical Trinity is how God moves. And I don't care if you're talking about creation. I don't care if you're talking about salvation. I don't care if you're talking about providence. I don't care what you're talking about. The economical Trinity is always like this.

Everything is out of the Father, through the Son, and in the Spirit. You hear that? Everything is out of the Father, through the Son, and in the Spirit. That means, when we come to the Father in prayer, we come to Him through the Son, in the Spirit. When God moves, everything is of Him, through Christ, and in the Spirit. That's how God created. That's how God saves. That's how God does everything. That is the economical Trinity.

So we grieve or we vex and we quench the Holy Spirit by our ungratefulness, by our unthankfulness, by our ignorance, by our apathy, our worldliness, our violation of God's Word. We forsake His ministry, His power, and His influence because we lightly esteem Him. Do you know something? There is no sermon that can convict and save. There is no oratory that can convict and save. Ever stop to think about that? If God the Holy Spirit is not pleased to bless the preaching and teaching of His Word and make it effectual to hearts, there will be no salvation, there will be no blessings. One of the stanzas of the song, "All is vain unless the Spirit of the Lord comes down," and that is true. So we forsake the Holy Spirit when we lightly esteem Him and do not consider His work in our lives. Fourthly, when men lightly esteem the Scriptures of truth, we forsake them. Have you ever really reached the conclusion that the Bible really is the Word of God? Have you ever reached the conclusion that the Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God?

When Men Lightly Esteem the Scriptures, They Forsake Them

Weaver argues that a light estimation of Scripture leads to forsaking it. He connects Christ as the living Word to the written Word, and cites Job, David, and Jeremiah as examples of those who highly esteemed God's Word.

Have you realized that the Bible is God-breathed? It is without error and it never fails. Have you understood that the Bible is God's Word to you? So have you read it? Have you read it all the way through? How many times have you read it all the way through? Do you read it consistently and constantly? If not, why not? Probably everyone in this room either can quote or you know of 2 Timothy chapter 3 verses 16 and 17, where the Bible says,

listen carefully,

What he says,

Literally, here's what it means: that all of the scriptures, God breathed or God exhaled.

Now, let me remind you of something. In John 1:1-4, I want to remind you that the Bible is the written Word of God, and that Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. Listen to John 1:1-4:

When you skip down to verse 14, listen carefully:

Now since Christ is the living Word, and the Bible is the written Word, listen carefully. Would not a light estimation of Christ lead to a light estimation of the Scriptures? If one regards Christ only lightly, will he not also regard the Bible lightly as well? And if one regards the Bible lightly, will he not also regard Christ as lightly as well?

Our Lord has put both of these together for us. I want you to listen to what He said in John 12 in verse 48. Our Lord said, "He that rejecteth me," He's the living Word, "and receiveth not my words," that's the written Word, "hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." So it's impossible then to have one attitude toward Christ and a different attitude toward the Scripture. So when you and I begin to understand what is happening in this day and time, why there is so much ignorance of the Word of God, it's because of a light estimation of Christ. Let me put it to you like this. Listen carefully. The reason we do not love the Scripture, the reason we do not read and study and meditate upon the Scripture, is because we lightly esteem the Son and because we lightly esteem the Father who gave them, and we lightly esteem the Holy Spirit who inspired them.

If you were to compare the attitudes of men in the Bible with the attitudes of professing Christians today, you'd find that there is a difference like day and night. For instance, Job said this in Job 23 and verse 12. He says, "Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." What did Job say? "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." I'll read your Scriptures before I eat. I need the Word of God more than I need physical food. That's what Job said. How about this one? David in Psalm 119 and verse 128 said this:

What did David say?

There's no arguing. There's no doubting. There's no disputing. David said, everything you say is right. And then he said,

In other words, I hate everything that's contrary to what you are teaching and what you're saying. How about this one? Jeremiah. Jeremiah 15 verse 16. Jeremiah said this: "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts." Thy words were found, and I did eat them. And they were the joy and the rejoicing of my heart.

You know, I got a good laugh this week. I told Alice yesterday, I was going to see Linda, I think it was Thursday morning. And I passed by this house and here's the man out in the yard. He had a, like a 4x4, two 4x4 posts up. And he had made him or gotten from somewhere two propellers. And one of them was, the blades were probably four feet. The one that he was putting up behind was probably only two feet.

So just for the wind to spin, that's all. He was out there working. It was probably mid-morning. And I thought to myself, as I drove by and saw him out there just playing, I thought to myself, boy, it sure would be nice to have all that time just to do whatever you wanted to do. And then I got tickled, I thought. Well, I am doing what I want to do. I'm studying and I'm preaching. That's what I want to do. Why is it we do not want to study the Scripture? Are you listening? Because we lightly esteem it. We don't really view it as the Word of God. We don't really count it as God's Word to us. We don't count it as God's divine commands for our lives. We lightly esteem Christ who spoke it, the Sovereign who gave it, and the Spirit who inspired it.

So consequently, it's not worth reading. It's not worth spending our time and wasting our time over. You want to know why we're so ignorant? Because we esteem the Scripture so lightly. If we really viewed it more than our necessary meat, we would study it. Fifthly, when men lightly esteem the servants of God, we forsake them. We tend to forget that our light esteem of God works its way down through the ranks. Listen to me. A light estimation and contempt for God is always manifested by a light estimation and contempt for His servants and representatives. Let me say this. How we value God's preachers is a barometer to indicate how we value God. I know I've told you this before, but I remember seeing this when I was a boy. You remember I was raised on a farm, raised in the country, went to a country church? Most of the men in that church probably smoked.

When Men Lightly Esteem the Servants of God, They Forsake Them

Weaver contends that contempt for God's servants reflects contempt for God. He uses 1 Samuel 8 and 2 Chronicles 36 to show that rejecting God's messengers is rejecting God, and that esteeming preachers is tied to peace among believers.

So consequently, it's not worth reading. It's not worth spending our time and wasting our time over. You want to know why we're so ignorant? Because we esteem the Scripture so lightly. If we really viewed it more than our necessary meat, we would study it. Fifthly, when men lightly esteem the servants of God, we forsake them. We tend to forget that our light esteem of God works its way down through the ranks. Listen to me. A light estimation and contempt for God is always manifested by a light estimation and contempt for His servants and representatives. Let me say this. How we value God's preachers is a barometer to indicate how we value God. I know I've told you this before, but I remember seeing this when I was a boy. You remember I was raised on a farm, raised in the country, went to a country church? Most of the men in that church probably smoked.

Back in the fifties, about everybody did. But I have seen with my own eyes, men standing out in front of the church smoking, and the preacher walked up to them, and they would take the cigarette out of their mouth, hold it behind them, sometimes they would pinch it out, sometimes they might drop it to the ground and just stomp the fire out. They were not trying to hide the fact that they were smoking. The pastor knew they smoked. All they were doing was having enough respect for him that they were not going to blow the smoke in his face. Today, nobody will try to put it back behind them. In fact, most of them will only blow the smoke in your face, especially if you're a preacher. They'll cuss you at the same time. Why? Because we've lost respect for the preachers of God, and consequently, that's a barometer to show that we've lost respect for God. I want to show you.

Turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 8. 1 Samuel chapter 8. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. 1 Samuel chapter 8 verse 1. And we'll read through verse 8. 1 Samuel chapter 8 and verse 1. Watch this passage. 1 Samuel 8 verse 1:

"Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment." Even godly men can have ungodly children. "Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways:" "Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." Now watch, they didn't ask for God to send them better judges, or better preachers, or better teachers, no. They said, "make us a king to judge us like all the nations." "But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." Now watch verse 8.

"According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee." Samuel, you want to know why they want a king? You want to know why they're turning against you? Because they've turned against me. They're forsaking you because they've forsaken me. Do you understand that the way we view God's preachers is a barometer to the way we view God? The way we value them is a barometer to the way we value God. A similar attitude was taken towards Samuel as was taken towards God. They forsook God, therefore they also forsook Samuel. Stop and think. Elijah was hounded. Elisha was mocked. Jeremiah was denounced and thrown in a dungeon. Isaiah was rejected. And multitudes of others were mocked and ridiculed. Why? Simply because they lightly esteemed God, therefore they're going to lightly esteem the servants of God.

I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 36. 2 Chronicles 36, and let's begin reading there with verse 15. 2 Chronicles 36, verse 15. Now I want to pause and show you something after I read this. 2 Chronicles 36, verse 15. Are you ready? 2 Chronicles 36, verse 15:

Whenever God is going to have compassion upon a people, He'll always send them a preacher. He'll always send them His Word. Now watch verse 16:

"Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand." Now, let's go back to verse 15. Watch this carefully. Now, "the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers," plural. He sent them many preachers, "rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place." Now watch verse 16: "But they mocked the messengers," plural, "of God, and despised his," singular, "words, and misused his prophets." Did you hear that? "Messengers" is plural, "his" is singular. "Messengers" refers to the preachers, "his" refers to God. Since they lightly esteemed God, they lightly esteemed His Word. Because they lightly esteemed His Word, they lightly esteemed His preachers. They mistreated His preachers. They mocked and ridiculed them because they mocked and ridiculed God. They held His preachers in contempt because they held God in contempt.

Just like I said last week, it is impossible to maintain one attitude toward the Father and a different attitude toward the Son. And just like I said today, it's impossible to maintain one attitude toward the Scriptures and a different attitude toward the Son. Likewise, it is impossible to maintain one attitude toward Christ's servants and another attitude toward Christ. Even our Lord Himself said to those whom He sent, in Matthew 10 and verse 40,

In John 13 and verse 20, our Lord said this:

And the opposite is also true. If you do not receive God's preacher, you do not receive Christ. And if you do not receive Christ, you do not receive the Father who sent Him. I want you to turn to the book of Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10. And let's begin reading there verse 13. Here's a passage that many people can quote. However, they do not normally look at it in its context. Romans chapter 10 verse 13.

The Bible simply says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." That's true. But watch what follows. "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?" So in order to call, you must believe. "And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" In order to believe, you must hear Christ. "And how shall they hear without a preacher?" Watch, if you would, verse 15: "And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" I want you to notice that Christ says that His representatives even have beautiful feet. Don't look at mine.

But you see what I'm saying? Look how valuable they are, and how they're connected, not only to being sent, but to preaching. And as they preach, Christ speaks. And as Christ speaks, men believe. And as men believe, they call upon the Lord. Our Lord says, "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" I want you to turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. I want to show you something. I'm making this, I hope, very plain because of the application that I'm going to make just momentarily. I want you to look at what God says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 12. There's so much more, but this is just one verse. The Apostle Paul is writing, and he says this, 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 12: "And we beseech you, brethren," so he's talking to God's people, "to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you," that's the preachers, now watch verse 13, "and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves."

Now, go back to verse 12. What does Paul say? "We beseech you," we beg you, we exhort you, we plead with you, "brethren." Number one, "to know them which labour among you." To know them. "To know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you." And then what does he say? "And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves." You know what the Apostle Paul is saying? There cannot be peace among the saints of God unless they learn to know and to esteem the messengers of God very highly for the work's sake.

Applications and Conclusion

Weaver ties the points together, emphasizing the interconnectedness of esteeming God, Son, Spirit, Scriptures, and servants. He warns that God lightly esteems those who despise Him, and urges believers to esteem what God esteems, control their tongues, and highly esteem fellow saints.

Now, go back to verse 12. What does Paul say? "We beseech you," we beg you, we exhort you, we plead with you, "brethren." Number one, "to know them which labour among you." To know them. "To know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you." And then what does he say? "And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves." You know what the Apostle Paul is saying? There cannot be peace among the saints of God unless they learn to know and to esteem the messengers of God very highly for the work's sake.

There has been, and there still is, a flippant attitude among most Christians concerning God's preachers. And the average attitude, well, "He's just one of us." It is true. Every man of God is a sinner. He's also a saint. But there's a little bit more to it, because He says, "they are over you in the Lord, and they admonish you." And so pastors then are on a different level in the sense that we have a greater responsibility and a greater culpability. And when there is not a high esteem for the servants of God, there's not going to be any peace among the brethren. For instance, let me show you. Let's just suppose that Ed and Stanley got into a fight. Not a physical fight, a disagreement. And they're arguing. And Stanley says, "I'm right." And Ed says, "No, I'm right." And finally they say, "I'll tell you what let's do. Let's not argue. Let's take it to the pastor and present it to him and see what he says."

Now, if both esteem me very highly in the Lord for the work's sake, they're going to accept what I tell them based upon the Word of God. But if they don't esteem me, they're not going to come to me, and they're going to get angry with each other, and hold bitterness and resentment, and there's not going to be any peace among the brethren. See what I'm saying? So God says that we must esteem the preachers of God very highly in love for their work's sake, so that we can be at peace among ourselves.

Now, I want to make some applications and I want to try to tie all this together. I've just said in the last two messages, when men forsake the Sovereign God, or when men lightly esteem the Sovereign God, they forsake Him. When men lightly esteem the Son of God, they forsake Him. When men lightly esteem the Spirit of God, they forsake Him. When men lightly esteem the Scriptures of God, they forsake them. When men lightly esteem the servants of God, they forsake them. It should be obvious that all of these concepts are tied together in a woven necklace of grace and responsibility. If we highly esteem the Father, we will highly esteem the Son. If we highly esteem the Son, we will highly esteem the Spirit who proceeded from the Father and the Son. If we highly esteem the Spirit, we will highly esteem the Scriptures which He inspired. If we highly esteem the Scriptures, we will also highly esteem those who proclaim the Scriptures. I want you to note something.

If we fail in one point, we fail in all. In order to fulfill our responsibility in every point, we must highly esteem those things and those individuals that God says deserve to be highly esteemed. Why did Israel forsake God? They lightly esteemed Him. They didn't count Him worth serving. Listen to application number two. It may not have occurred to us, but it is still true. If we lightly esteem and dishonor God, He will also hold us in contempt. You know what God said in 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30?

You remember Eli restrained not his sons. In 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30, God says this: "Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me;" listen to what he says, "for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." God says, you hold Me in contempt, I'll hold you in contempt. You lightly esteem Me, I'll lightly esteem you. Isn't it amazing? Isn't it amazing that we can forget God, forget His Son, forget His Spirit, forget His Scriptures, forget His service, but when we get in trouble, we want God and everybody else to drop everything and come to our aid. God said, "I've got news for you. You lightly esteem me, I'll lightly esteem you." If we want divine help, we better be willing to give divine honor.

The third application is this. We have to learn to esteem that which God esteems. And we have to learn to hold in contempt that which God holds in contempt. You remember what our Lord told those Pharisees in Luke 16 and verse 15? Listen to this. He said unto them, "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God." It doesn't do us any good to esteem that which man esteems. For that's an abomination in the sight of God. We need to esteem that which God esteems. You know, my fourth application is this, and I want you to listen because I could have had another point. My last point could have been this. When men lightly esteem the saints of God, we forsake them. We must also learn to esteem each other highly in the Lord.

It will not only humble us, but enable us to be better servants one to another. You know, we forget the fact that we've been called to serve each other. The Bible says in Philippians 2 and verse 3, "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." How highly do you esteem your brothers in Christ? If you do not hold your brothers in Christ in high estimation, you'll forsake them in their time of need. My fifth and last application is this. Wisdom will also teach us that we must control our tongues. What in the world will the control of our tongues have to do with right esteem? Well, just listen. Proverbs 17 verse 28: "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding." You know what God is saying? We need to know when to speak, and we need to know when to be quiet. We need to know what to esteem and what not to esteem. We need to know who to esteem and whom not to esteem. Why do we forsake God? Because we lightly esteem Him. Why do we forsake the Son of God? Because we lightly esteem Him. Why do we forsake the Spirit of God and His ministry? Because we lightly esteem Him. Why do we forsake the Scriptures of truth? Because we lightly esteem them. Why do we lightly esteem the servants of God and forsake them?

Because we hold them in contempt. We hold God in contempt and we hold them in contempt. Well, we must remember, God says, "them that honour me I will honour," saith the Lord, "and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." You must worship and honor and esteem very greatly the Sovereign God, the Son of God, the Spirit of God, the Scriptures of God, and the servants of God as well as the saints of God. Don't forsake them. Esteem them worthy of honor and worship and glory. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before Thee this day. We thank You that Thou art God and Thou art God alone. We thank You for the Son of God who is our sacrifice, our substitute, and our salvation. We're thankful for the Spirit of God who convicted us and converted us and regenerated us, who sanctifies us, who intercedes for us, who every grace gives us, and every good thing in our life is there because of Him. We're thankful for the Scriptures of God, that they are truth. They're authoritative.

They're clear. And they are our standard. We thank Thee, Father, for the servants of God, whoever they may be, wherever they may be. And we pray and thank Thee, Father, for the saints of God. And enable us to esteem them very highly and love them. And Father, we just give ourselves unto Thee and make us into what we should be by Your grace and by Your glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.