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IRON SHARPENS IRON

PROVERBS 27:17

Several years ago the pastor of a large Southwestern church got himself in a bit of trouble. This pastor was known for his information dense, academically oriented sermons. Because of his "Just the facts, Ma'am" approach to his teaching, he relied heavily on his notes with an occasional jaunt into the deep waters of an off the cuff remark.

But on this particular night, things would be different. This service was for the entire family, those who were 3 years old and up. Because of the uniqueness of his audience, a wide age gap, his sermon would take on a decidedly informal, conversational style.

Now the first fifteen minutes went smoothly, everything was great, no one would have disagreed with that. He was relating those warm, fuzzy, memories related from holiday's past with family and friends. You can't go wrong with that. But then, all of a sudden, without notice, disaster struck. And it struck big time. No one missed what he had said.

As he was speaking of his childhood memories of Christmas, he paused for a moment. And then, in one of those innocent, unexplained remarks, you know the kind I'm talking about. The ones that once you have said them you wish you could take them back, but you can't, and you live to regret it. He looked at his audience, cleared his throat, and said, "And of course, we all know there is no such thing as Santa Clause!"

Now let me give you the reaction from a person who was there. "As I sat in the front row, I turned and watched as a stunned reaction rolled across the auditorium. Little three to five year old eyes turned toward their parents with a look of shock and betrayal. Adult faces turned pale and then turned red with the same kind of anger usually reserved for flag burners or pyramid marketing scheme salesmen. At this point, the pastor might as well have been speaking to a group of Rush Limbaugh disciples on 'International Communism: Let's give it one more try!'"

He said "As I watched a parade of disgruntled parents and disillusioned kiddies trudge out of the service I came to an important conclusion about the wacky world of the modern church. You can preach against sin, you can preach about hell, you can preach about Jesus being the only way to heaven, but whatever you do, don't take on Santa Clause."

Sometimes, when you try to make a point, speak on a topic, share your heart, before you know it, sparks begin to fly. And our first impression of that is this must be bad. We must have done something wrong. What good can come from that? Lets find out as we look at Proverbs chapter 27, and see what Solomon has to say in verse 17.

PROVERBS 27:17

"As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

This is interesting to me because Solomon is saying that iron is sharpening iron. Usually a whetstone, which was an abrasive stone used in sharpening knives or other edged tools, was the instrument to use. I think the point that Solomon is making is two people, having the same nature, both iron, can sharpen each others mind, help each other to grow and be in tune to the things that are going on around them. And yes, they can even help each other to move in the right direction, to stay on track, to walk away from sin and towards God. And even if sparks do fly, if both sides are open to the truth, those sparks will not be deadly but will result in each instrument, each person becoming sharper in the Lord and their walk with Him.

This morning we are going to look at an acronym to help us remember some important principles in regards to our relationship with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. The acronym we are going to use is SHARP which stands for:

SPIRIT

HEED

ADMONISH

REBUKE

PREPARE

And so, lets dig into these and see what principles we can glean from them.

1. SPIRIT

To often people speak out of their own wisdom, their own ideas, and they are many times contrary to what God has said in His Word. Within the past couple of weeks there was a contestto pick the worlds greatest thinker, and out of the many entry's from around the world, they had chosen four finalists.

The topic they would speak on was about lying, if it was ever okay to speak a lie. A college student who had hemophilia and was not allowed to be on the football team because of it, said that it was never okay to lie. That you should always speak the truth. Also, taking the same thought was a retired physician who also believed that there was not a time where lying should be tolerated, that you should speak the truth.

On the other side, interestingly enough, was a Episcopal priest who felt it was okay to lie if you lied to help others. Going with his line of reasoning, that lying was okay, was a radio sex therapist, known as the love doctor, and even though she was on the radio, she dressed like a prostitute. She too, along with this Episcopal priest, felt that there were times where lying was okay.

And the winner was the Episcopal priest who argued that there were times of human injustices in which you must lie. If you needed to help a person out, save their life, then you were justified if you lie. Now my flesh would love to agree with him. If I lived during the Holocaust and I was hiding Jews, I could not tell the truth and expose their hiding place, for it would mean their death. Thus, I would be justified if I lied in a situation like that for I was trying to protect them.

David, when he lied to Abimelech, faked madness, mediated upon what he had done, his lies, and in Psalm 34 he said "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him...The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit." Psalm 34:1-9, 15-18.

David recognized his mistake, that he should not have lied, but he should have put his trust in the Lord to deliver him out of that situation. You see, the problem I have with the kind of logic that says at times it is okay to lie is it goes contrary to God's Word. Paul said in Colossians 3:9-10, "Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." You see, lies come from the old nature, the flesh, and not of the Spirit. I don'tknow how, but I truly believe God would show us a way to protect a life and yet not violate His law.

The Scriptures expressly condemn lies, (John 8:44, I Timothy 1:9-10, Revelation 21:27, 22:15). And the instances of good men lying in the Bible are spoken of but they are never approved, (Genesis 12:13, Genesis 20:2, Genesis 26, Genesis 27, Exodus 1:15-19, I Samuel 19:14, I Samuel 20).

And what happens as we begin down this path is we will continue moving faster and farther, rationalizing our actions all the way. Paul put it this way in Romans 8:5-11, "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."

Paul is telling us not to yield to the temptations of the flesh, but to the Spirit of God. Let Him be your guide in all you do and all you say. I don't care how righteous your acts might be, if they go contrary to what God has said, then you can not please God. We must allow the Spirit ofGod, according to the Word of God, be our guide, be our mouth piece. As Paul said in Philippians 2:5, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." Put on the mind of Christ, allowing the Spirit of God to work through you, which leads to our second principle, HEED.

2. HEED

It is one thing to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart through the Word of God, but it is quite another to obey what God is telling you to do. In fact that is wisdom, taking the knowledge, the truths of God and applying them to your life.

As Joshua spoke to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, who were going to stay on the east side of the Jordan River, he told them to "...take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." Joshua 22:5.

Joshua is telling these 2 ½ tribes, that because they have separated themselves from the rest of the nation, they need to be very careful and walk in the ways of the Lord, follow what God has said and not turn to the right hand or the left hand, but remain on track, walking in the Lord. Heed the words of God!

Now those first two principles, the Spirit, and heeding the words of God, are primarily for each individual. This is what we need to do in our own life so that we may walk in a way that is pleasing to God and to others. It is, in a sense, getting our hearts and our walk in line with God,and the rest will flow. The next three principles are not necessarily inward or focused on self, but outward, touching the lives of others.

3. ADMONISH

This speaks of encouraging the brethren, lifting them up, helping them to forge ahead in the battle. In Hebrews 10:24-25 we read, "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

Here is a principle, when violated, causes people to stumble in their walk with God. That principle is the gathering together or assembling together of believers. Why is that so important? Because we stir each other up, encourage each other to use the gifts that God has given us. What happens when you stir up the embers of a fire? It causes those embers to explode into flames, a fire is rekindled. When you admonish or encourage someone it fires them up, love explodes from them, they feel they can walk on water, take on the world in Christ.

Now this may sound silly to some of you, but a hug by a brother is encouraging to me. Over the past several weeks God must have known I needed some hugs, for he sent some dearbrothers to me, out of the blue with a great big bear hug. I love that! I was stirred up, ready to forge ahead, it encouraged me!

Here is another important aspect that can encourage or discourage someone, depending on what we do. Paul said in I Corinthians 10:23-24, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being."

Paul is speaking of the freedom we have in Christ, and yet, he realizes that some of his actions may cause another younger Christian to stumble. Thus, he stays away from those things that would cause another person to stumble which results in their edification instead of their destruction. Keep others first as you do things, reminding yourself, "Will this action build up a person or tear them down?" And then do what is right. Paul said in Romans 15:2, "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification." And in I Thessalonians 5:11 Paul said "Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing."

I truly believe that as we admonish, edify, build each other up, it will keep us sharp in our walk with God.

4. REBUKE

Now this is one that is difficult, and many times ignored. And when we don't rebuke someone who is in sin, speaking of course of Christians, it causes them to become dull, and it will cause us to become dull also. And yes, when we rebuke a person we may see sparks fly, but if they listen and obey what God has said, then it is for their own good and they will become sharp. Proverbs 19:20 says "Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days."

Now I think the church has become hypersensitive in this area of rebuke. They don't want to offend anyone, make anyone mad or cause anyone to leave the church, so they tip toe around like nothing is wrong, ignoring the sin. And yet Paul tells Timothy, a young pastor, to do the following in I Timothy 5:20, "Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear."

You see, not only are you trying to get the person who is sinning back on track, but you are also using this as an object lesson for others so they will not follow down the same path. We read in Hebrews 3:12-13, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called 'Today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Sin must be dealt with or a persons heart will become hard, insensitive to the things of God.

Now Paul takes this even further when he says in II Thessalonians 3:14-15, "And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." Many today would be outraged at a insensitive statement like that. Understandwhere Paul is coming from. If a person is in sin, and they are confronted with it, admonished to turn away from it, and they refuse, by fellowshipping with them you are encouraging them to continue in their sin and as others see what you are doing, they see you condoning this action. Paul wants us to be clear on this, if they refuse to repent and get right with God, warn them, and then don't keep company with them. Let them see what their sin is costing them with the hope that they will return.

5. PREPARE

When I think of preparing I think of a soldier getting ready for battle. And as he prepares he may do some simulation battles, war games, to get him ready. As Christians we, in a sense, do the same.

A couple of weeks ago, prior to our victorious volleyball game at Al's, several of us were sitting around discussing some issues from the Bible and world events. And I love to do that, even though my emotions at times get the better of me, because it keeps me sharp, it stimulates my mind, it gets me thinking, it helps me to hone my skills as I then will defend my faith with unbelievers. Peter admonishes us to be ready to defend what we believe, our faith. He said "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear." I Peter 3:15.

I think that this is so important, just discussing the things of God, dealing with difficult questions, sharing just what God is doing in your life. Far to often, in our busy schedules, we getto church right on time, and we leave church right on time, as soon as it ends. In doing that we miss out on the blessing of fellowshipping with others, meeting new people, praying with people, talking about the message you just heard, talking about the Bible, sharpening our minds as iron sharpens iron!

The reason many are so dull today is they don't take the time that is needed to sharpen their lives. Paul said in Colossians 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Do you want to be sharp? Then get into God's Word, let it fill your life and overflow in your actions as you admonish others to do the same, giving your own life as an example for them.

I'm sure a lot of sparks flew on that faithful night when the pastor let it be known that there was no Santa Clause. And you might think how horrible that was, that no good could come from that. I think that would be the wrong conclusion to come to. I think what this pastor said made each parent think about what they have taught their children about Christmas, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, or the coming of a jolly old man in a red suit with presents for all the good boys and girls. Sometimes we need to be shocked back into reality with the truth, and for some, it sharpens them, and for others, they will continue being dull, refusing to allow iron to sharpen iron.

Don't forget our acronym, SHARP, to help keep us ready, alert at all times. Let the SPIRIT of God speak to your heart. HEED what God is telling you. ADMONISH others in the body of Christ to forge ahead. REBUKE those that are transgressing God's Word. And PREPARE your mind by fellowshipping and sharing the things of God with others.

Let me leave you this morning with these words from Paul to the church in Thessalonica. He said in I Thessalonians 5:14-15, "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all." May that be our hearts desire!

"As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."